





V ,<v 


















. 



% %*' 









c^ 









&Mi. os. iw; h^t^i- n?3 - 



CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL 



COMMENTARY 



THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, 



NEW TRANSLATION. 



BY 



JAMES G!" MURPHY, LL.D. ? T.C.D., 

PEOFESSOK OF HEBREW, BELFAST, AUTHOR OF COMMENTARIES ON GENESIS AND EXODUS. 




WARREN F. DRAPER, PUBLISHER 

MAI3ST STREET. 

1872. 



it) 

CO 



in 



PREFACE. 



In the present state of man, human reason, if without bias 
and without revelation, would arrive at three inevitable con- 
clusions : I am guilty, God is holy, and therefore I am doomed 
to die. It would be easy to put these three propositions into 
the form of a regular syllogism, of which the last would be 
the legitimate conclusion. They contain the sum of all nat- 
ural theology ; and it is obvious that they constitute a philos- 
ophy of despair. 

There is a whole class of the most important truths involved 
in these few statements. It is well to bring some of these 
distinctly before the mind. That human reason is under a 
manifold bias, different in different men and circumstances, 
and extremely difficult to escape, is a proposition that will not 
be denied by any one at all conversant with the history of 
opinion in philosophy and religion. The degree in which cer- 
tain threads of pure revelation have been woven into the many- 
figured texture of the imagination, and have influenced the 
course of reason on questions of the highest moment to man, 
has not been so fully considered or freely conceded ; and it is 
impossible here to do more than indicate this important point. 
Yet notwithstanding the acknowledged existence of prejudice, 
even on the loftiest themes, it is a settled conviction with us, 
that intellect is indestructible as long as the soul endures, and 

8 



4 PREFACE. 

that reason has the power of cognising first principles, ascer- 
taining elementary facts, and drawing legitimate conclusions, 
if the wilful vagrancy of the fancy were kept in check. This is 
the first postulate of all human philosophy, without the admis- 
sion of which all further pursuit of knowledge is hopeless and 
unprofitable. 

Having adopted the postulate that reason, if true to itself, is 
a faculty by which knowledge may be acquired, we are prone 
to investigate the highest problem of man — his moral relation 
to God, and are led at length to the three fundamental pro- 
positions already given. At first sight some will object to their 
meagreness, others to their comprehensiveness. Let them at 
all events be put to the test of a thorough and impartial exam- 
ination. Our business here is to do no more than elucidate 
them so far that their meaning may not be mistaken. The 
first proposition affirms two things — that man is of a moral 
nature, and that when this moral nature is developed he is 
conscious of sin and guilt ; and it implies that right reason is 
capable of discovering these facts. These conclusions have 
been all more or less debated by some ; yet they are what we 
hold to be the finding of reason on this question. 

The second proposition affirms the moral nature of God, and 
along with this the perfection of that nature ; and involves 
the idea and the existence of the Creator of all things. Many 
will hesitate long before they accept these momentous aver- 
ments, with all that they imply, as the actual or possible deliv- 
erance of reason at its best estate from the ordinary sources of 
intuition, experience, or logical sequence. But the longer we 
meditate on this transcendent theme the more fully shall we 
be convinced that they are the probable, if not demonstrable, 



PREFACE. 5 

result to which all the expatiations of human reason inev- 
itably lead. 

The third proposition asserts that the doom of sin is death, 
and that I, being guilty of sin, am doomed to die. This is the 
conclusion following from the premises already stated, and, 
like every other conclusion, is simply the evolution of that 
which is involved in the previous facts. It raises the question 
of the meaning of death, and of its counterpart, life, and of the 
general principles of administrative justice on the part of the 
Moral Governor of the universe. But there is nothing in all 
this which reason is not competent to investigate, if it have 
already achieved the results involved in the premises of this 
argument. Having arrived at this unavoidable conclusion, 
reason has no more that it can do. By the inexorable logic of 
facts it has been compelled to draw a dark picture of human 
destiny. It is not able to cast a single ray of hope on the 
gloomy scene. Thus ends the book of fallen nature. 

On this dark ground we open the book of revelation. It 
also, we find, contains three cardinal articles of faith, which 
are the counterparts of the propositions of reason, though in a 
different order. The fundamental utterance of revelation is, 
that God is merciful. This unfolds itself into three elements 
of evangelical truth : God pardons, redeems, and sanctifies. 
All this is more fully conveyed in the three following sen- 
tences : the Father in mercy appoints an atonement and ac- 
cepts the returning penitent ; the Son makes the required 
atonement by fulfilling all righteousness and dying for sin- 
ners ; the Holy Spirit sanctifies the soul, begetting in it faith 
in Jesus Christ and repentance toward God. We may set 
these over against the former three propositions thus, God is 



6 PREFACE. 

holy ; but he is also merciful : I am doomed to die ; but the 
Word made flesh has died for me : I am guilty of sin ; but 
the Holy Spirit comes with these glad tidings to quicken me 
to repentance. This is the sum and substance of all revealed 
religion ; and it is plain that it forms the only basis of a philos- 
ophy of hope. 

These elements of the theology of revelation involve a long 
series of truths of the utmost moment and interest to man. 
Antecedent, however, to the entertainment of any or all of these 
doctrines is the question of revelation itself, with the kindred 
topics of creation, miracle, inspiration, and prophecy. Dr. 
Kalisch in a long dissertation on " Theology of the Past and 
the Future," prefixed to his Commentary on Leviticus, re- 
nounces creation, miracle, prayer, revelation, inspiration, and 
prophecy, and in consistency with these views denies the exist- 
ence of types in the Old Testament. He therefore naturally 
remarks ; " It is not sufficient to appeal from the letter of the 
Bible to its spirit ; indeed, the one kills, but even the other is 
no longer life and truth to us. The spirit of the Bible is not 
the spirit of our times ; it is not the light that illumines our 
path, or points to our goal." It is not surprising that a Jew 
should write thus, when we consider the precursors he has 
had among the philosophers and divines of the Christian as 
well as of the Jewish church, whose interpretation of Scripture 
he has rashly taken for the letter and the spirit of the Bible. 
As a natural result of this bewilderment he has betaken 
himself for guidance and comfort to reason, unaided reason, 
developing itself successfully in science and philosophy, and 
proudly sitting in judgment on the Bible as one of the curious 
products of the ancient mind. 



PREFACE. 7 

No thinking man will venture to undervalue reason. The 
progress it has made in the mathematical and experimental 
sciences, and in their thousandfold application to the arts of 
life proclaims its power. But its scope, however comprehen- 
sive, is limited to intuition, experience, and inference. It 
cannot by any telescope or microscope of its own invention go 
beyond these. It cannot look even on the heart of man, 
much less can it penetrate the thoughts and intents of God. 
In this field of inquiry the utmost that I can descry is the 
momentous syllogism, I have sinned against the holy God; 
he that has sinned against him is doomed to die; I am there- 
fore doomed to death. All that is not involved in this lies 
beyond the horizon of reason. If Dr. Kalisch had once fairly 
faced the cheerless and solitary prospect which is presented by 
this farthest step of reason in the line of man's moral relation 
with God he would have been slow to hand us over to Baruch 
Spinoza, and other masters or vaunters of reason, however 
splendid in intellect or unimpeachable in morals. At this 
dark abyss without revelation reason can only stand aghast. 

Many of those who are in doubt about a written revelation 
will demur to the account here given of the testimony which 
reason has to offer with respect to the relation of God with 
man. Some will affirm that it is overstated ; others that it is 
understated. We have at present, it is obvious, no pressing 
concern with those who think it is overstated, inasmuch as the 
less reason can testify, the more our need of revelation. But 
those who think it is understated assure themselves that reason 
suggests, if it does not vouch, that, there is mercy with God. 
If reason actually vouched for all that this implies, the need of 
revelation, it must be confessed, would not be great. This is the 



3 PKEFACE. 

turning-point of the whole question. And the nearer we draw 
to it, the more sensible we become that it is the most grave 
and serious theme that can engage the attention of man. Now 
it is impossible for us to get over the conviction that reason, 
so far from even hinting at mercy, feels itself constrained to 
yield unreservedly to the full demand of justice. For it must 
be borne in mind, that mercy, to be at all to the present pur- 
pose, must involve the forgiveness of sin. Now it is most 
willingly agreed that the sight of suffering, that is presumably 
the suffering of an innocent being, will awaken pity in the 
Divine bosom. But on the altogether different question 
whether the Most High will or can forgive sin, reason can only 
be silent. All that it can positively asseverate is, that sin 
deserves its doom, and that justice requires that the punishment 
be adequate to the offence. If I wrong my neighbor, he has 
a right to redress. And he that is in authority is bound not 
only to enforce the right, but to vindicate the law by condign 
punishment. Reason can go no further. I cannot say that 
my neighbor must or ought or will pardon me. I can by 
no means say that the magistrate is at liberty to pardon me 
without redressing my neighbor. 

Whence, then, comes the conception of pardon that so readily 
suggests itself to the mind in this awful predicament ? Sim- 
ply, we submit, from the voice of revelation, a revelation as 
early as the fall, entwining itself with the memories of the 
race, descending as a tradition from father to son, and cher- 
ished as a fountain of hope in the valley of the shadow of 
death. But apart from all revelation, reason could only assure 
us of the sentence of death upon the sinner ; and we know 
not whether imagination could even suggest the possibility of 



PREFACE. 9 

pardon. But even if it could, the bare suggestion would be of 
no avail for our light or peace against the inevitable doom 
pronounced by reason upon the guilty. Only a plain and 
palpable attestation could give comfort to the mind. Hence 
the line is clear to us that marks off the distinct spheres of 
reason and revelation in the matter of our relation to God. 
Reason, at the most, can only tell us of justice and doom. 
Revelation, when its voice is heard at all, speaks of mercy 
and peace. Hence also appears to us the absolute necessity 
of revelation, if hope is ever to have a place in the breast of 
the fallen. 

When a revelation from heaven is made, however, reason 
has as much to do with it as with any other matter that comes 
within its ken. First, it acknowledges its possibility. If my 
fellow-man can tell me of the thoughts and feelings that are 
within his heart, much more can my Maker unveil to me the 
purpose of mercy that has lain hid within his breast. I ask 
not the mode of doing so. He who made me after his own 
image has, I question not, divers manners of making known 
to me his mind. Next, reason hears, understands, and esti- 
mates the credibility of the revelation. All these processes we 
hold and admit to be quite competent to right reason. Again, 
when a revelation comes to be written, it affords still further 
exercise for reason. We then have the best means not only 
of preserving it, but of judging of its value and its authority. 
A written revelation gives rise to the questions of the inspira- 
tion and of the canon of Scripture. 

The possibility of a revelation involves the wider possibility 
of a miracle, and this of creation and prophecy. A logical 
mind, accepting revelation, will be found accepting with equal 



10 PKEFACE. 

readiness all these kindred facts, not perhaps in the popular, 
but at all events in the scriptural sense. On the other hand, 
he who rejects revelation will feel himself bound in consistency 
to reject the miracle in all its phases. This single point of 
revelation, then, divides thinking men into two sharply defined 
classes, those who acknowledge the miraculous in the scriptural 
sense, and those who repudiate it in some other assumed sense. 
It is fitting to express the divergence in this modified form, 
because the reasoning of one truly thoughtful man is not, and 
cannot be, in direct antagonism with that of another. 

To guard against misconception it is necessary to observe 
that the inspiration of the Scriptures must be, by the very 
nature of. the thing, verbal, simply because the Scripture to 
which this property is ascribed consists of words. Dean Al- 
ford, than whom few men, if any, in the British Empire are 
more deserving of thanks from the churches for his labors in 
the field of New Testament exposition, distinguishes verbal and 
plenary inspirations as two diverging theories, and gives a defi- 
nition of the former, on the ground of which he rejects it as 
unworthy and destructive of the credibility of the Gospels. 
We regret that he has taken this course, which we think un- 
worthy of his discrimination and his candor. "We adhere to the 
phrase " verbal inspiration, " but we must decline to adopt his 
definition of it. Verbal inspiration is simply the inspiration of 
a writing, which of necessity consists of words. We agree with 
this eminent expositor, that "We must take our views of in- 
spiration, not from a priori considerations, but entirely from 

THE EVIDENCE FURNISHED BY THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES. Now 

one express part of the evidence furnished by Scripture is that 
" Scripture," that is, the written document composed of words, 



PREFACE. 11 

is " given by inspiration of God." We take shelter under this 
statement, and refuse to be dislodged from it on the insufficient 
ground that certain advocates, or certain opponents, of the doc- 
trine have given an untenable or unscriptural definition of it. 
The question of the inspiration of the Scriptures is not merely 
who are inspired, but what is inspired. 

As the evidence of a miracle rests ultimately on the testi- 
mony of the senses, so it is with the canon of Scripture. We 
are inconsiderately looking for too much, when we expect pre- 
ternatural evidence of a preternatural event. The supernat- 
ural must, in the long run, come to our knowledge by natural 
evidence. To come to the case in point, the last books or book 
of revelation must be received on the evidence of sense or 
testimony. For if this evidence were miraculous, it would 
itself be a part of the canon, and would need its own natural 
attestation. Hence it is contrary to sound sense to demand 
inspired evidence of the last contribution made to the volume 
of inspiration. The Israelites had natural evidence merely, 
the evidence of experience and testimony to the Divine rev- 
elation given to Moses for their instruction. Incidentally we 
have preternatural evidence, the evidence of the New Tes- 
tament, for the canon of the Old Testament. But we have 
simply natural evidence, that of credible testimony, for the 
canon of the New Testament. And it would be well for us 
always to bear in mind that, in the nature of things, this is all 
we can have, unless and until there be a third Testament con- 
taining an inspired voucher for the second. This evidence of 
sense is all we need to have, as it would be all we should still 
have for another instalment of revelation, if it were to come. 

Though reason can formulate the sum total of its own con- 



12 PREFACE. 

elusions concerning the relation of man to God, it cannot 
prescribe, but only accept, the form in which the matter of 
revelation will come from God. But when it has the volume 
of revelation before it, it falls within its province to apprehend 
and to exhibit the substance of the Divine communication in a 
sentence or system. The sentence is, " There is forgiveness 
with thee, that thou mayest be feared." The system has been 
already given in its most condensed shape : The Father par- 
dons, the Son propitiates, the Spirit purines. The first of these 
three propositions involves the other two. Because it is the 
Father's purpose to remit sin, he sends his Son to redeem and 
his Spirit to regenerate. The first has two seemingly insur- 
mountable obstacles to encounter. How can God, being just, 
forgive sin ; and, how can man, being evil, return to God ? 
The former is overcome by the atonement, in which the Son 
of God becoming man obeys the law and dies the death, that 
the sinner who trusts in him with penitent heart may escape 
death and enter into life. The latter is overcome by the re- 
generating work of the Holy Spirit, who by the gospel makes 
the sinner aware of the mercy of the Father and the mediation 
of the Son, and willing to lean on the Saviour and return to 
the Fountain of mercy. These three fundamental articles of 
faith manifestly involve two others of co-ordinate importance, 
the trinity of persons in the Godhead and the incarnation of 
the Eternal Word. These may be called the five cardinal 
points of revelation. The questions of predestination and free- 
agency lie on the common ground of reason and faith, or of 
observation and revelation. 

To make our way clear, it is expedient to make a few re- 
marks on some of these points. Pardon is by its very nature 



PREFACE. 13 

free : " Freely by his grace.'' as the Scriptures almost pleo- 
nastically express it. Yet pardon is in effect bound by two 
indispensable conditions, first that the Mediator satisfy the law 
for the offender, and next that the offender, relying on the 
Mediator, return to the Father. Propitiation implies expiation, 
the latter denoting the payment of the penalty due to sin, the 
former including also, and chiefly, the performance of the obedi- 
ence due to the law. Purification is a process begun in the new 
birth and continued in the new life. As long as there is a 
remnant of sin or of the old man we must present the petition 
"Forgive us our debts," and plead for acceptance the merits 
of the Substitute. Incarnation involves not only death on 
account of sin, but resurrection Unto life on account of right- 
eousness. The revelation of the three persons or relatives in 
the essentially one God unfolds to us the possibility of salva- 
tion. None but the essentially Divine can pardon, redeem, or 
regenerate ; and yet the Forgiver, Redeemer, and Sanctifier 
must be relatively or personally different. 

The Book of Leviticus is the figurative exhibition of the way 
of salvation. It is the central book of the Pentateuch. After 
the history of the whole human race in relation with God given 
in the Book of Genesis and, the growth of the seed of Abraham 
into a free and holy nation recorded in the Book of Exodus, we 
have in this highly remarkable and singularly interesting book 
the first full and particular development of the way of salvation 
for man, in a series of symbolic forms suited to the primeval 
stage of the human race, and fitted to edify the infant people 
of God, unfold to their mind and conscience the first principles 
of reconciliation with God and renovation after his image, and 
prepare them for the coming of the substance of all these shad-. 



14 PREFACE. 

ows in the fulness of time. Nothing can exceed the interest of 
this book for the age in which it made its appearance ; and the 
attentive study of it will contribute much to the confirmation 
and comfort of us who live in the light of the gospel which it 
foreshadows, after the advent of the Mediator whom it represents. 

Dr. Kalisch, in his Introduction to this book, has a section 
on its " illogical arrangement," which he founds upon a crude 
and superficial digest of its contents. It is the easiest thing 
in the world to make a book appear illogical. We have only 
to misapprehend the author's principle of arrangement, and 
the thing is done. Many an author suffers from this sort of 
treatment on the part of the critic. The more faithful he is 
to his real plan, the more incongruous will his work appear to 
the critic who sees no plan in it, or imagines a wrong one. 
He applies the wrong key, which is sure not to fit. He pro- 
nounces the lock out of order ; but it is the key that is 
wrong, not the lock. Dr. Kalisch has not been at the pains 
to discover the true principle of arrangement in the Book 
of Leviticus. It will appear, when due attention is paid to 
the structure of the book, that the order of its various topics 
is the very best that could be devised by an author who had a 
series of distinct communications intrusted to him, not to 
work into a treatise, but simply to arrange in a book. 

The book treats of propitiation and purification. Propitia- 
tion involves the priest who mediates and the offering which 
makes atonement. Besides the priest and the offering that 
come between, are the almighty, eternal, holy Creator and the 
fallen creature, between whom they come. It is requisite, for 
the sake of clearness, to direct our attention to each of these 
important objects in turn. 



PREFACE. 15 

The most holy and wise God alone determines what is the 
nature of the mediation between himself and his fallen crea- 
tures, what are the characteristics and functions of the Mediator, 
and what is the special significance of each kind of offering. 
It is not of the slightest consequence, therefore, for the illus- 
tration of these matters, what were the manners and customs 
of other nations concerning the worship of the Deity ; as they 
only contain some traces of revealed truth mingled up with a 
mass of human error. For any certain information, therefore, 
concerning the priests and their functions, the offerings and 
the import of their several kinds, and the feelings and inten- 
tions with which the worshippers came forward to present 
them, we must have recourse to the Scriptures which are 
handed down to us as the revelation of God concerning the 
mode of his worship. 

The priest has two functions to discharge — the offering of 
sacrifice, and the making of intercession. In the former of 
these functions, he has two parts only to perform ; the applica- 
tion of the blood and the burning of the fat, the flesh, or the 
memorial of the oblation or meat-offering. These two parts 
are expressive of expiation and propitiation, or the payment 
of the penalty and the performance of the righteousness due 
by the transgressor. It is not necessary to dwell on these, as 
they will receive their illustration from the explanation of the 
various offerings. 

The various kinds of offerings described in the first five 
chapters have tasked the ingenuity of expositors from the 
earliest times ; and much depends on the elucidation of their 
true meaning for the right understanding of the book itself, 
and of the way of salvation for the lost family of man which 



16 PREFACE. 

the Bible unfolds. It is manifest that there are three primary 
and stated offerings, and two secondary and occasional. The 
former are the burnt-sacrifice, the oblation, and the sacrifice of 
peace, expressing atonement, the benefit of atonement, and the 
enjoyment of this benefit ; the latter, the sin-sacrifice and the 
trespass-offering, expressing the expiation and the satisfaction 
for an occasional sin of inadvertence. This is the result of a 
careful and patient examination of their nature and import 

The burnt-sacrifice represents the great propitiation for sin, 
to be offered up once only on behalf of a sinful world. This is 
manifest from the description of it. It is " for the acceptance " 
of the worshippers ; it is " accepted for him to atone for him"; 
and it is " a fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord." The 
blood that expiates is sprinkled on the altar ; and the burning 
of the whole upon the altar is the symbol of a full propitiation. 
The oblation sets forth the fruit of righteousness, which is life. 
For bread is the staff of life. The memorial of it is burnt by 
the priest upon the altar, as " a fire-offering of a sweet smell 
unto the Lord." This denotes a propitiation, which is made by 
fulfilling all righteousness. It presupposes expiation by the 
blood of the burnt-sacrifice. The sacrifice of peace includes 
the three stages, the blood of expiation, the fat of propitiation, 
and the feast of communion, in which the benefits of redemp- 
tion are actually received and enjoyed by the worshipper. Sub- 
ordinate and occasional are the sin-sacrifice and the trespass- 
offering. They express the application of the great propitiation 
to the inadvertent sins that are committed by the children of 
God after repentance and adoption ; the former giving promi- 
nence to the punishment due for the wrong done, and the latter 
to the redress due for the right left undone. According to the 



PREFACE. 17 

circumstances, the one or the other is used, or both arc offered 
for the same offence. 

The prominent feeling that animates the worshipper is differ- 
ent, according to the nature of the offering. In the burnt-sac- 
rifice he comes to express his faith in God and in the divinely 
appointed propitiation for sin ; in the oblation his acknowledge- 
ment of the blessings of life ; and in the sacrifice of peace the 
joy of salvation which fills his soul when he partakes of those 
blessings. The re-awakening of faith and hope after the sorrow 
and self-condemnation of inadvertent sins prompts to the sin- 
sacrifice and the trespass-offering. Hence it appears that the 
motives which these offerings, in their diversity and mutual 
relationship, call forth, afford a fine illustration of the process 
of salvation in the inner man. To lay the hand upon the head 
of the burnt-sacrifice for the first time, represents the turning- 
point in the history of the soul. % In that representative act is 
set forth, in a figure, the act of being born of God and adopted 
into his family, by which sanctification is begun and justification 
takes place. Justification has two sides, a negative and a posi- 
tive ; it includes the pardon of sin in us, and the acceptance of 
righteousness for us. These have their corresponding two 
sides in the atoning sacrifice, which embraces, not only the 
payment of the penalty, but the performance of the righteous- 
ness due to the law of heaven. The same two-sidedness comes 
out in the definition of the burnt-sacrifice, makes itself very 
distinct in the sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering, and appears 
in the two parts the priest has to perform in the offering of 
sacrifice. To present the oblation alone, or in conjunction 
with the sacrifice proper, in which there is the shedding of 
blood, is practically to acknowledge the good works or right- 



18 PREFACE. 

eousness of the mediator as the meritorious ground of the 
blessings of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 
The same principle applies to the offering of the first-fruits, 
which is a confession that the fruits of the earth are the gift of 
God on the ground of a merit not our own. Hence we perceive 
that the oblation presupposes, even when it is not immediately 
preceded by, the sacrifice of propitiation. This is the ultimate 
ground on which it is accepted, and the benefits which it sym- 
bolizes are realized. To partake of the feast on the sacrifice 
of peace, is to celebrate, not merely the blessings of salvation, 
but our actual enjoyment of them in fellowship with our heav- 
enly Father. This is a divinely instituted emblem of the 
Christian living with Christ. It is the symbolic expression of 
the fact that, " if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we 
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ 
his Son cleanseth us from all sin." There is, however, another 
aspect of" the experience of a Christian which is presented in 
the following verse : " If we say that we have no sin we deceive 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Hence the singular 
aptitude of the sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering to express 
the application of the atonement which our humiliating expe- 
rience requires us to make even after we have with penitent 
heart laid our hand upon the head of the great atoning sacri- 
fice. The traces of the old man betray themselves in us, which 
need a fresh sprinkling of the blood of atonement, and a long 
and persevering effort for their complete obliteration. These 
are the sins of inadvertence, more or less grave, which mar the 
spiritual beauty and wound the conscience of the child of God. 
The sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering thus symbolize the 
fresh application of the blood of sprinkling, which the sin-vexed 



PREFACE. 19 

soul has to make, whilo humbly confessing the easily-besetting 
sin which ho has not yet been able entirely to lay aside, and 
uttering the often needful supplication, "forgive us our debts 
as we forgive our debtors." In this twofold form of offering 
for sin, as has been already said, the Christian expresses his 
regret for walking in any respect after the flesh, and his long- 
ing to walk in all respects after the Spirit. 

To bring out more clearly the full scope of this interpreta- 
tion of these offerings, it is requisite to notice some of "tho in- 
terpretations which have been recently presented to the public. 
Kurtz sums up his view of the proper sacrifices in the following 
sentence : " The same progressive stages, therefore, which dis- 
tinguish redemption and its symbolical correlate, the complete 
idea of sacrifice, incorporated themselves, as it were, in these 
three varieties of sacrifice : the stage of atonement, of justifi- 
cation in the sin-offering ; that of sandificatio in tho burnt- 
sacrifice ; and that of sacramental fellowship, of the unio 
mystica, in the peace-offering." A faithful adherence to the 
text of Scripture will show the inaccuracy of this representa- 
tion of the sacrifices. First of all, as a whole it is an incon- 
gruous mixture of justification, sanctification, and the mystical 
union. Now proper sacrifice signifies only one thing, atone- 
ment, in two branches, expiation and propitiation. Corres- 
ponding to this is justification with its two corresponding parts, 
pardon and acceptance. This is the act of the Father on the 
ground of tho atonement, which is the act of the Mediator. 
But sanctification and the mystical union do not stand in the 
same category with justification, and have no similar relation 
to sacrifice. Hence the arrangement violates all the laws of 
good division. And next in detail the sin-sacrifice denotes, 



20 PREFACE. 

not justification, nor strictly its correlative, atonement, but 
expiation, and tbat not for sin in general or as a state, but for 
an occasional sin of inadvertence. Hence it lias no right to 
the first place, nor even to a co-ordinate place with the burnt- 
sacrifice or the peace-sacrifice. Again, the burnt-sacrifice is 
not symbolic of salification. It is not " the sacrifice of entire, 
full, unconditional self-surrender." There is nothing of all 
this in the scriptural account of it, as any one may see. It is 
simply a means of atonement and acceptance, a fire-offering of 
a sweet smell unto the Lord. These are the only indications 
of its meaning, and they are plain unmistakeable marks of 
atonement. To make any sacrifice denote self-surre?ider is to 
confound the feeling of the offerer with the meaning of the 
offering. The former is not self-surrender, but faith. The 
latter is the self-surrender, not of the offerer, but of the victim. 
These distinctions are obvious to the thoughtful reader. The 
sacrifice of peace closes with a feast upon a sacrifice, which 
gives it its distinctive character. The sacrifice, as usual, repre- 
sents propitiation, the foundation of peace ; and the feast at 
its close exhibits the participation of the redeemed in the 
blessings of salvation. 

The following passage contains a like summary of the views 
of Keil : " The sacrificial law, therefore, with the five species of 
sacrifices which it enjoins, embraces every aspect in which Israel 
was to manifest its true relation to the Lord its God. Whilst 
the sanctification of the whole man in self-surrender to the 
Lord was shadowed forth in the burnt-offerings, the fruits of 
this sanctification in the meat-offering, and the blessedness of 
the possession and enjoyment of saving grace in the peace- 
offerings, the expiatory sacrifices furnished the means of re- 



PREFACE. 21 

moving the barrier which sins and trespasses had set up between 
the sinner and the holy God, and procured the forgiveness of 
sin and guilt, so that the sinner could attain once more to the 
unrestricted enjoyment of the covenant grace." Here is the 
same violation of the laws of good division. The parts should 
contain neither more nor less than the whole. But sacrifice 
does not contain sanctification among its parts. The meat- 
offering represents the fruit, not of. sanctification, but of pro- 
pitiation : the expiatory sacrifices, by which are meant the 
sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering, are only both expiatory, 
if expiation be identical with propitiation, and only the one 
expiatory and the other propitiatory, if we distinguish these 
terms ; and they properly open the way for the forgiveness 
of sins of inadvertence. There is nothing in the scriptural 
account of the burnt-sacrifice to show that it means the self- 
surrender of the worshipper. It is the victim that is in every 
case surrendered to the doom of death, after having established 
its claim to life. It is not the feeling of the offerer, but that 
of the priest and victim, that is expressed in the sacrifice. 

Kalisch exhibits his view of the sacrifices in the following 
terms : " The sacrifice may cither be designed to evince the 
offerer's absolute submission to the divine sovereignty and to 
acknowledge God's unlimited sway over the destinies of man ; 
or it may be intended as an expression of gratitude for bless- 
ings enjoyed ; or it may serve to implore forgiveness and expia- 
tion for offences committed ; or, lastly, it may mark the return 
of a state of purity after a period of unclcanncss, as after the 
recovery from the lepropy or a running issue. In the first 
case, it was a burnt-offering ; in the second, a thank-offering or 
praise-offering ; in the third, a sin-offering or a trespass-offer- 



22 PREFACE. 

ing ; and in tho last, a purification-offering." There is here 
some forcing of preconceived notions on Scripture, and con- 
siderable confusion of things that differ. In the view of the 
sacred writer the sacrifice expresses not the subjective feelings 
of the worshipper in presenting it, but the atonement which 
the victim is to make in the purpose of God. The burnt-sac- 
rifice represents, not the absolute submission of the offerers to 
the divine sovereignty, nor God's unlimited sway over the 
destinies of man, ideas which arc foreign to the notion of sac- 
rifice, and only akin to that of predestination, but the making 
of atonement and the opening of the way for pardon and accept- 
ance. The sacrifice of peace is not necessarily a thank or 
praise offering, an expression of gratitude for blessings received, 
but primarily a symbolic enjoyment of the blessings procured 
through an accepted atonement. The sin-saci-ifice or trespass- 
offering docs not exactly " serve to implore forgiveness and 
expiation for offences committed," but exhibits the penalty 
paid, or redress made, for the faults of inadvertence- in which 
holy men are overtaken. The sacrifice does not " implore," 
but atone ; and " forgiveness and expiation " are not parallel, 
but the latter is the condition of the former. And it must be 
understood that a "purification-offering" may be so called, 
not because it purifies, since its proper effect is to propitiate, 
but because it is offered when purification has taken place. It 
is also one of the kinds of sacrifice already specified. 

A few remarks only will be added in conclusion. Tho writer 
has been sparing of philological and grammatical remarks, as 
they arc within the reach of all who have a good grammar 
and a good lexicon. He lias also arranged them in the form 
and place of notes, so that the English reader may peruse the 



PREFACE. 23 

comment without interruption or difficulty. He has indulged 
in some occasional repetition to avoid the trouble of reference. 
He has generally avoided going far beyond the stand-point of 
the men for whom the book was originally written, inasmuch 
as it was intended for the present instruction and edification 
of the early church. After the general view of the sacrifices 
above given, it is unnecessary to enter here into the distinc- 
tions between the sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering, the 
nature of the sacrifices of the two birds and the two goats, and 
other debated points, which will be treated in their proper 
places. Reflections of an admonitory nature are seldom offered, 
as they will come more freshly and profitably from the thought- 
ful reader's own mind. No difficulty occurring to the writer 
has been left without an attempt at a full explanation. The 
pleasure and. benefit he has reaped from the study of this book 
have been to him a great reward. If the result of his study 
affords any gratification or illumination to any of his readers, 
his labor will not be in vain. 

In the arrangement of the text and notes the amended 
version is placed over the comment for the sake of reference. 
The paragraph may be advantageously read over before begin- 
ning to peruse the comment on it. The figures refer to the 
few philological notes at the end of the chapter. The ordinary 
reader may examine these by omitting the Hebrew words. 



INTRODUCTION. 



X. LEVITICUS. 

The third fifth of the law, called familiarly fcOJ?*3, from its initial 
word, is designated by sundry other names, which are more or less 
indications of its nature and contents. It is entitled in the Talmud 
bTOrSft rni'n, the law of the priests, and rrlSSP^tt rnin ^50, the book 
of the law of offerings, and in the Septuagint and the Vulgate Acvitikov 
(Pifiktov) and Leviticus (liber). 

Leviticus and Numbers are the complement of Exodus. The first 
of these three books records the constitution of the holy nation ; the 
second supplies the account of its chief religious institutions ; and the 
third mainly that of its civil institutions. Hence the latter two form the 
counterparts of one whole. The religious and civil concerns of a nation, 
however, are so interwoven that they cannot be entirely severed. There 
is therefore a slight intermingling of these themes in the two books. 

Leviticus treats of the ritual of the chosen people. In the pre- 
ceding book the departure of Israel out of the land of bondage, the 
publication of the moral law in ten commandments, and of the civil 
law in seven sections of ten clauses each, and the erection of the 
tabernacle for the worship of God after the pattern shown in the 
mount, had been placed on record. This is naturally followed by a 
treatise prescribing the ceremonial observances, by which communion 
between God and the people, among whom he had chosen to dwell, 
might be maintained. This book is accordingly a divinely instituted 
.code of worship. If there had been no fall, a ritual of worship would 
have been unnecessary. The knowledge of God would have remained 
unclouded. The way of approaching him would have been obvious 
and familiar. Every word would have been a note in the psalm of 
life, every deed a step in the path of rectitude, and every thought a 
link in the never-ending chain of truth ; and all together would have 
i.been the unbidden presentation of a reverent homage to the Father 
4 25 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

of all. But with a fallen being all is changed. Guilt is upon his 
conscience, and doom is before his eyes. Of the mercy of God, or of 
the mode in which it may be exercised, he can form no anticipation. 
Only a positive revelation from God can afford any ground of certainty 
or comfort on these points. The main fact, that there is mercy with 
God for the returning penitent, had been communicated to the family 
of man immediately after the fall. And some hints had been given of 
the mode in which it could alone be conveyed. But now that a 
peculiar people has been selected to receive the Divine favor, and keep 
up the knowledge of God and his mercy on the earth, it is full time 
that a more complete and definite account should be given of the way 
in which the returning penitent may draw near to God with acceptance. 
This is the topic of the Book of Leviticus. The worship of a fallen 
being returning to God is here prescribed. This worship must take 
its start from an atonement provided by God and accepted by man. 
Hence the priest and the sacrifice have a prominent place on the scene 
of worship ; and the book which describes it is appropriately termed, 
the law of the priests, and the law of offerings. The priestly family 
were of the tribe of Levi, and the Levites were given to them in place 
of the first-born, to be their attendants and ministers in the service 
of the sanctuary. Hence the book of the law of offerings is not un- 
suitably styled Leviticus; though the Levites are only once mentioned 
in it, and that incidentally in a regulation concerning their cities and 
houses, contained in the twenty-fifth chapter. 

As the tabernacle and its furniture had a typical significance, so the 
priest, the offering, and the various observances of a ritual nature 
comprised in this book are shadows of good things to come, symbolic 
representations of that real atonement which was eventually to be 
made by the High Priest for the sin of mankind. Its leading object 
is to interest the mind in the doctrines of redemption, and direct the 
will to faith in a Redeemer. The infant race had to be trained to the 
only mode of returning to God and abiding with him. The moral and 
intellectual capacity of fallen man had to be developed by the exhi- 
bition in a tangible and intelligible form of the ways and means by 
which reconciliation to heaven might be effected in harmony with the 
eternal principles of truth and holiness. And the theory of the atone- 
ment thus lodged in the mind was to be enforced by the practice of the 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

enjoined rites ; "which, if it had any meaning, was the formal acceptance 
of the Divine mercy on the on\y terms on which it could be offered. 

There are two ends contemplated in forming the regulations for the 
conduct of the chosen nation ; the one being the welfare of the little 
commonwealth itself, and the other the ultimate reconciliation of the 
whole human race to their Maker. The former is evidently subordi- 
nate to the latter. It gives rise to the civil code, which is intermingled 
with the more general enactments, and helps to give shape even to 
those which aim at the restitution of all things in this fallen world. The 
very smallness of the nation rendered it more easy to give a practical 
realization of the kingdom of God on earth ; inasmuch as the people 
were enabled to convene for the purpose of common worship three 
times a year at the centre of the community. The one temple in the 
holy city was the meet figure of the one heaven, where he resides who 
is at the same time King of the kings of earth and Monarch of the 
universe of things. And the theocracy of Israel was the germ and 
type of that kingdom of righteousness and peace, which was/eventually 
to be set up on earth, and thenceforward never to be moved. 

To this grander end the main body of the peculiar institutions of 
Israel had regard. The moral law was proclaimed to bring home 
again .to the understanding and the conscience of man- the great 
principles of rectitude and personal responsibility to his Maker. The 
sense of guilt having been in this way awakened, craved some relief 
from the dark prospect which loomed in the future. The institutions 
of Leviticus are calculated to satisfy this need. The principle of 
redemption, as the only legitimate method of reconciliation to God, 
is hereby implanted in the human breast. The minister of atonement 
is set forth in the priest; the means of atonement in the sacrifice, 
which is the shedding of blood, or the giving of life for life. Compli- 
ance on the part of the sinner with the prescribed ritual, coming to 
God in his sanctuary, availing himself of the good offices of the high 
priest, and presenting through him the appointed exchange for his 
own life ; these form the entrance into the life of reconciliation with 
God. The life itself corresponds with the birth, as it has its legal 
standing in the same substituted righteousness, and its essential validity 
in the same inborn faith and repentance. The penitent stands only 
in the righteousness of the Redeemer, who makes satisfaction where 



28 INTRODUCTION. 

he has failed, and lives only in the strength of the Sanctifier, who has 
enabled him to iccept the legal standing thus mercifully vouchsafed, 
.and thenceforth to walk with his God in newness of life. 

On examining the Book of Leviticus, we find it contains two series 
of regulations : the former, concerning entrance into communion with 
God ; the latter, concerning preparation for entrance into the land 
of promise. Hence the former relates to the process of reconciliation, 
affording natural scope for faith and repentance, the first moments of 
the new-born soul ; the latter, to the state of reconciliation, calling 
into exercise those graces and endowments which grow out of faith in 
God and repentance towards him. These parts correspond, in some 
measure, with redemption and salvation, or with the new birth and a 
holy life, as the beginning and continuance of a state of salvation. 
The first part contains sixteen chapters, which fall into three sections. 
Section I. (ch. i.-vii.) treats of the various kinds of offerings ; Section 
II. (ch. viii.-x.) of the consecration of the priests and the accom- 
panying events ; Section III. (ch. xi.-xvi.) of the several arrange- 
ments pertaining to purity in diet (xi.) and in person (xii.-xv.), and 
culminating in the day of atonement (xvi.), which had direct and 
emphatic reference not only to propitiation, but also to purification. 
There is, therefore, a perfectly logical arrangement in this part — the 
first seven chapters relating to propitiation, the next three to the 
appointment of the propitiator, the next five to purification, and the 
remaining one to a peculiar ordinance which combines propitiation 
and purification as the two counterparts in the whole of salvation. 
In the second part, also, there are three subdivisions. Section IV. 
(ch. xvii.-xx.) refers to the civil life of the regenerate people ; Section 
V. (ch. xxi.-xxiv.) to the religious life ; and Section VI. (ch. 
xxv.-xxvii.) to the matters that affect both the civil and the religious 
life. The civil matters are abstinence from blood, chastity, holiness, 
and the sanctions by which the regulations concerning them are en- 
forced. The religious matters are the priests, the offerings, the days, 
and the house of God. The mixed matters are the Sabbath, the 
jubilee year, and the vow. Thus we discern a logical principle run- 
ning through the second part, as well as the first. 
• It is obvious, from this glance at its contents, that this book is col- 
lateral with that of Exodus. Its object is not to advance the narra- 



INTRODUCTION. 20 

tive, but to embody the ritual, which was necessary for the service of 
the tabernacle. It records not more than two facts. The first of 
these is the consecration of Aaron and his sons, which appears to 
have taken place during the seven days before the first day of the 
second year of Israel's deliverance. The second is the stoning of the 
blasphemer, which is recorded after the directions concerning the oil 
for the lamps and the bread for the table of the Lord (xxiv.), and 
therefore may have occurred before the erection of the tabernacle. 
The enactments which form the main substance of the book were 
most probably communicated to Moses before the formal commence- 
ment of the ceremonial worship on the first day of the second year. 
The only clear exception to this is the portion from the consecration 
of the priests to the qpd of the sixteenth chapter (ch. xi.-xvi.). 
There are three obvious reasons for this conclusion. First, some of 
the regulations contained in it were necessary for the due performance 
of the ordinances commenced on the first day of the second year, such 
as the sacrificial rules (i.—vii.) and the directions concerning the lamps 
and the shew-bread (xxiv.). Secondly, the consecration of the priest3 
during eight days, the offerings of the princes occupying the twelve 
or fourteen days after the tabernacle was set up, the celebration of 
the passover extending over the next eight days, the arrangements 
of the census, or mustering of the host, and the celebration of the 
second passover, were sufficient to occupy Moses from the twentieth 
of the last month to the twentieth of the second month, when they 
decamped from Mount Sinai ; whereas, during the six or seven 
months of the construction of the tabernacle he must have been at 
leisure to receive the divine communications recorded in the present 
book. Thirdly, the Book of Numbers goes back to the day on which 
Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, which implies that no absolute 
progress had been made in the narrative up to chapter vii. of that 
book. Leviticus is, therefore, mainly taken up with those collateral 
topics which were left out in Exodus in order to allow the stately 
march of the narrative to come to a fitting close in the setting up of 
the tabernacle and the solemn inauguration of the national worship. 

The communications thus reserved for this book were eminently 
worthy of being embodied in a separate treatise. The ceremonial 
observances of ancient Israel were all significant of higher things 



30 INTRODUCTION. 

than themselves, and of the highest things in reference to man. 
"Wherewithal shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before 
the high God?" is the question of transcendent interest for fallen 
man. The present section of the law is a full and explicit response 
to this question from the stand-point of the church in the wilderness. 
The institutions here prescribed place it in the clearest light in which 
it was capable of being presented to the mind of that day. They are 
so many lessons, introducing into the sphere of rational contemplation 
the fundamental principles of salvation by a mediator. They estab- 
lish a sacrificing priest, presupposing sin and doom in man, proclaim- 
ing mercy and grace in God ; acknowledging, at the same time, his 
holiness, justice, and truth; -revealing the method of propitiation 
wherein the deliverer undertakes to fulfil the demands of the law for 
tho transgressor ; and implying the change of regeneration, whereby 
the fallen spirit is raised up again, accepts the Saviour, and turns from 
enmity to love. The momentous importance of this exposition of the 
way of salvation to the men of Israel in the days of Moses can 
scarcely be exaggerated. And its historical -\4alue to us, now that it 
is touched with the hoar of a venerable antiquity, is unquestionably 
great. It is the ancient text, of which the New Testament is the 
practical and exegetical commentary. In the Gospels we have the 
fourfold history of that atonement actually accomplished which its 
ordinances prefigure ; in the Acts of the Apostles we read of the first 
steps of that new life which is shadowed forth in its second part ; and 
in the Epistles, especially the Epistle to the Hebrews, we have the 
inspired interpretation of those typical acts and things in it which 
point to that great event whereby eternal redemption was obtained. 
This book is therefore exceedingly helpful to us, not only from the 
intrinsic value of its contents, but from the historical account which 
it renders of a remarkable stage in the development of that system 
of symbolic ordinances by which the way of reconciliation with God 
was exhibited and prognosticated. 

We append a scheme of the contents of the book : 

^Section I. Sacrifices, Chap, i.-vii. 

Entrance into Life. 4 Section II. Consecration of the Priests, viii. - x. 

( Section III. Cleansing. Atonement, xi.-xvi. 

( Section IV. Rules in Matters Civil, xvii-xx. 

Progress in Life. < Section V. Rules in Matters Religious, xxi. - xxiv. 

( Section VI. Rules in Matters Civil and Religious, xxv. - xxvii. 



COMMENTARY ON THE PENTATEUCH. 



PART IV. 

SECTION L — OFFERINGS. 

I. THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

On the first day of the second year from the exodus the tabernacle 
was set up. On the twentieth day of the second month (Num. x. 11) 
the sons of Israel set out on their journey from Mount Sinai through the 
wilderness to the land of promise. In the interval most of the follow- 
ing highly important events must have taken place : The consecration 
of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, occupying eight days (Lev. 
viii.-x.) ; the preparation of the water of purification (Num. xix.) ; the 
dedication of the Levites (Num. viii.) ; the offerings of the princes of 
the tribes, occupying twelve days (Num. vii.) ; the passover, extending 
over seven days, at least (Num. ix.) ; the numbering of the people 
(Num. i.) ; and the second passover (Num. ix.). The last two events 
are sufficient to occupy the nineteen days of the second month ; and it 
remains to be seen whether the preceding occurrences can be satis- 
factorily distributed over the first month. It is natural to suppose 
that the offerings of the princes were presented on twelve successive 
days, without any interruption, unless it were the Sabbath. In that 
case, they should be placed in the fourteen days before the passover. 
It is possible to arrange the consecration of the priests and the dedi- 
cation of the Levites for the nine days after the passover at the close 
of the first month. But this interval would be necessary to prepare 
for the census, which was to be commenced on the first day of the 
second month (Num. i.). Moreover, it seems proper to proceed with 
the consecration of the priests, either before or as an integral part of 
the formal dedication of the -tabernacle, as they were required to dis- 

31 



§2 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

charge some of their highest functions on that occasion and on the 
following twenty days; and the concurrence of the former with the 
latter event accords best with the directions given in Ex. xl. 12-15, 
and the particulars recorded in Lev. ix. The omission of any detail 
of this incidental ceremony in the account of the setting up of the 
tabernacle arises from the natural desire of the narrator not to em- 
barrass the record or disturb the grandeur of the leading event of the 
day. The report of this subordinate circumstance is reserved for 
another occasion (Lev. viii.-x.). But this is quite consistent with its 
commencement on the same day with the solemn process of the erec- 
tion and dedication of the tabernacle. In like manner the offerings 
of the princes are not mentioned until we come to' Num. vii., although 
it is there stated that they began to be offered on the day on which 
the tabernacle was set up. Hence the order of events may have been 
the following : In the process of setting up the tabernacle, which is 
carried on for seven days, and consummated on the first day of the 
second year, the consecration of the priests takes place as an essential 
and concurrent part of the whole ceremony. On the day of its con- 
summation the princes appear prepared with their offerings. The 
waggons and oxen may have been accepted then and there, and the 
arrangement made for the successive presentation of their sacrifices 
on the twelve or thirteen following days. Hence their offerings will 
have been completed on the fourteenth day of the month, if we allow 
the Sabbath to be a day of intermission. As the Levites are said to 
be sprinkled with water of purification, it is most natural to suppose 
that the preparation of this water (Num. xix.) took place on the 
second day of the month. The dedication of the Levites, narrated 
in Num. viii., after the offerings of the princes, and before the account 
■ of the passover (Nam. ix.) , may thus have taken place on the third of 
the first month, so that they would as soon as possible be regularly 
qualified to assist the priests in the extraordinary duties they were 
now called on to perform. Thus everything would be duly arranged 
for the orderly celebration of the passover on the proper clay. We 
cannot affirm that this was the precise order of all these events ; but 
it seems the most probable, and it serves, at all events, to give a clear 
and definite conception of the interesting proceedings that took place 
in the first month, and for some days before and after it. 



LEVITICUS I. 1-9. 33 

*We are here reminded, by some very striking examples, of the law 
of Hebrew composition, according to which one train of events is 
brought to a fitting close before the writer pauses to go back for a 
concurrent train of events that had been omitted for the sake of 
perspicuity. The setting up of the tabernacle is summarily recorded 
in Ex. xl. A contemporaneous event — the consecration of the 
priests, is narrated afterwards, in Lev. viii.-x. It is obvious that this 
record, with all its attendant circumstances, would have marred very 
much the effect of the simplicity and beauty of the statement in Ex. 
xl. An immediately consecutive event — the offerings of the princes 
— is deferred until the seventh chapter of the following book. . The 
dedication of the Levites, probably concurrent with this, and the cele- 
bration of the passover, consequent upon it, are reported in Num. viii. 
and ix. And all these three events are related after the account of 
the census (Num. i.) which took place in the beginning of the follow- 
ing month. From all this we learn that Leviticus and a considerable 
part of Numbers form the needful supplement to the closing chapters 
of Exodus, and arc disposed according to an order of thought, and 
not of time. It behooves the expositor to discover, as far as possible, 
this order, if he is to give a fair interpretation to the author. It is 
plain, at first sight, that the whole narrative in Leviticus may not go 
beyond the beginning of the first month. 

The first section of this book, which is now before us, treats of the 
different kinds of offerings in seven chapters. The first five lay down 
general rules concerning the burnt-sacrifice, the oblation, the sacrifice 
of peace, the sin-sacrifice, and the trespass-offering, for the instruction 
of the worshipper. The remaining two prescribe certain special rules 
for the guidance of the priests in regard to these several offerings. 

The first chapter relates to the burnt-sacrifice. It contains three 
paragraphs : the first treating of the ox (1-9) ; the second, of the 
sheep or goat (10-13) ; and the third, of the turtle-dove or pigeon 
(14-17). 

1-9. The ox for a burnt-sacrifice. 1. Called. It is not stated who 
immediately called, whether Joshua, the minister of Moses, or not 
But the call was ultimately from the Lord. This phrase occurs here 
for the fifth and last time. The occasion on which it is employed is 
always important. In Ex. iii. 4, God called unto him out of the 
5 



34 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

I. 1. And lie called unto Moses, and the Lord spake unto 
him out of the tent of meeting, saying, 2. Speak unto the 

midst of the bush, and gave him his great commission. In Ex. xix. 
3, 20, the Lord called to him to enforce the keeping of the covenant, 
and to prepare for the giving of the law. In Ex. xxiv. 1 6, he called 
unto him out of the midst of the cloud to show him the plan and 
specifications of the tabernacle and its appurtenances. Here he is 
called once more to receive another series of regulations concerning 
the intercourse of the chosen people with the God of mercy. These 
are contained in the seven following chapters and other parts of the 
books of Leviticus and Numbers. Hence we perceive that this is a 
suitable beginning for a new book of the law. Spake unto him. This 
book consists mainly of oral communications from the Lord (see on 
v. 2) to Moses, usually alone, but, after the consecration of the priests, 
sometimes in conjunction with Aaron. To understand the book it is 
necessary to bear this in mind. These are not dated, in respect of 
time (except xvi. 1), though the place is sometimes given. It is 
manifest that Moses, having these separate communications by him in 
a written form, at length put them together, as we find them in Le- 
viticus and Numbers, according to a plan suggested by circumstances, 
not of time, but of use. Without a knowledge of the use, we cannot 
judge of the plan. Out of the tent of meeting. 1 Commentators usually 
explain this of the newly erected tabernacle. This is, at least, doubt- 
ful. We know there was a tent which Moses took and pitched 
without the camp afar off, and called the tent of meeting (Ex. xxxiii. 
7). We learn from Lev. vii. 38 that Moses received these directions 
concerning the offerings in Mount Sinai. Now, the tabernacle was 
not erected on the mount ; but the tent of meeting, which Moses 
pitched afar off from the camp, may have been on the slopes of Sinai. 
It may have been near, if not on, the spot where the elders waited 
forty days, until Moses and his minister Joshua returned (Ex. xxiv. 14). 
These communications would thus be made on mount Sinai. More- 
over, these ordinances must have been given to Moses before the 
setting up of the tabernacle. For the burnt-sacrifice, the sin-sacrifice, 
and the peace-offering, which had to be presented on the grandest of 
all occasions when the tabernacle was in process of erection and for 



LEVITICUS I. 2. 35 

sons of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you make an 
offering unto the Lord, of the cattle, of the herd, and of the 

twenty days after, are here described for the first time. And in par- 
ticular the oblation to be presented by Aaron and his sons at their 
consecration in the same solemnity is specified in this very section 
(Lev. vi. 12-1G). Hence we infer that these seven chapters contain a 
series of communications which must have been made to Moses in the 
period antecedent to the erection of the tabernacle and the consecra- 
tion of the priests, while Bezalel and his assistants were engaged in 
preparing its various parts and furnishings. This was an interval of 
comparative leisure to Moses, during which he might receive and 
commit to writing the successive directions from the mouth of the 
Lord, which would be requisite at, as well as after, the setting up of 
the tabernacle. Having in his sublime narrative given the place of 
prominence to this principal event, he now according to the Hebrew 
usage, returns to the previous time to record an order of events which 
was going on parallel with the preparation for the rearing up of the 
Lord's house. 

2. Any ma?i, any descendant of fallen Adam. An offering? This 
is the general term for anything presented to the Lord by the intelli- 
gent creature. It is a thing brought nigh. It therefore implies an 
approach to the Creator on the part of the rational creature, a pre- 
senting of something to him, and therewith and therein an acknowl- 
edgement that he himself belongs to the Lord, a dedication of himself 
to the Lord. The dedication is the main act of the worshipper 
expressed by the general term offering, though it is not at all the 
meaning or essential principle of sacrifice, which is indeed not an act 
of the worshipper. Such dedication implies regeneration, faith, and 
all that revival of right feeling in the heart of the sinner towards his 
merciful God, which is involved in a right approach to him. The Lord. 
It is to be remembered that the original term thus rendered through- 
out the book, is Jehovah, the self-existent Author of all things and 
events, and hence the Performer of promise and the Keeper of cove- 
nant. This is accordingly the appropriate divine name for a book 
treating of peace, propitiation, and purification. The name Elohim 
occurs in it about fifty times, and invariably in relation to some person 



36 THE BUENT-SACRIFICE. 

flock shall ye make your offering. 3. If his offering be a 
burnt-sacrifice of the herd, a perfect male he shall offer : at 

whose God he is said to be, never, in an absolute sense. Jehovah 
occurs about two hundred and six times. Of the cattle. Some connect 
this with the opening (apodosis) of the sentence, thus, " If any man 
make an offering of the cattle," thereby affording room for the alter- 
native in vs. 14, " If his offering be of the fowl " ; but we hold by the 
Masoretic pointing, and attach it to the close (epitasis) of the sentence, 
which thus prescribes the standard form of the offering ; for which, 
however, a less costly substitute is afterwards admitted. So in chaps. 
ii. 2, iv. 28, and v. 6, we have the usual material prescribed first, with- 
out any hint of the alternative that is afterwards allowed. A second 
reason, however, is, that the author is as yet speaking of offerings in 
general, and his observation, therefore, applies to the whole of the 
animal offerings, whereas the alternative in vs. 14 refers to the burnt- 
sacrifice in particular. Cattle are suitable for sacrifices because they 
are domestic, or home-reared, and thus in some measure connected 
with man. The same reason applies to poultry. On the other hand, 
grain and fruits, being products of human industry and therefore, so 
far, a species of property, are suitable for oblations, which express 
gratitude or self-dedication on the part of the offerer. 

3. A burnt-sacrifice? We adopt this variant of the English version 
for what is usually called the burnt-offering, partly to avoid the frequent 
use of the word offering in this book, but chiefly to get somewhat 
nearer to precision. The term whole-burning or holocaust is prefera- 
ble, so far as it is still more expressive of its real nature ; but habit 
recoils from so much innovation. This is emphatically the sacrifice, 
the animal sacrifice, the whole sacrifice, the wholly-burnt sacrifice. 
We meet with the burnt-sacrifice on two interesting occasions in Genesis. 
Noah, standing once more safe on dry land, took of all clean cattle 
and of clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings (Gen. viii. 20). Abraham, 
having his unreserved obedience put to the test, offered the ram caught 
in the thicket for a burnt-offering instead of his son (Gen. xxii). From 
the remark of Isaac to his father, " Behold the fire and the wood, but 
where is the sheep for a burnt-offering ? " it is plain that the burnt- 
sacrifice was familiar to the mind of that day. It is the earliest of all 



LEVITICUS I. 3. 37 

the door of the tent of meeting he shall offer it for his accept- 
ance before the Lord. 4. And he shall lay his hand upon 

proper sacrifices, and inclusive of them all. Its essential characteristic 
is propitiation. It therefore presupposes sin and guilt on the part of 
the creature for whom it is offered, and holiness and mercy on the 
part of the Creator whom he has offended. And it involves expiation, 
or the suffering of the punishment incurred, as the indispensable con- 
comitant of propitiation, or the full performance by a mediator of the 
obedience that had been withheld ; expiation made by the death, and 
propitiation by the perfect and uniform righteousness, of the substitute, 
warranting the pardon and acceptance of him for whom the substitute 
has undertaken. The particulars follow. Of the herd. A life, a soul, 
in the wide sense of the animal principle, is needed when propitiation 
is to be made. Hence the mediator must be a person, a moral being, 
a voluntary or free agent. The animal soul is but the symbol of what 
the propitiatory sacrifice must be. As a human life has been forfeited, 
a human life must be laid down. Not a fallen soul, however ; for 
that needs itself expiation, not to speak of propitiation. Hence the 
vanity of all merely human sacrifice. The Son of man who is to pro- 
pitiate must be himself free from the taint of sin. A perfect* male. 
A male is the complete and all-inclusive sex. So it was with the first 
Adam, out of whom Eve sprang. This male must be without blemish, 
to symbolize the moral integrity of the personal victim. Righteous- 
ness, perfect obedience, is the antecedent part he must have performed. 
It is the only ground of propitiation. This is the undeniable reason 
why a fallen creature can make no atonement. He shall offer. By 
this act the sinner becomes partaker of the benefit of the sacrifice. 
This implies in him a knowledge of the appointed and revealed way 
of salvation, a voluntary trust in it and acceptance of it, with all the dis- 
positions which befit such an act — shame, regret, repentance, gratitude, 
good-will. For his acceptance ; s that he may be accepted. This is the 
rendering of the Sept., Onkelos, and Jerome. The phrase must be 
so rendered in Leviticus xxiii. 1 1 ; and this rules other cases. " Of his 
own voluntary will " 3 would be otherwise expressed. The acceptance 
includes the pardon as well as the acquittal. It comes in here appro- 
priately, where the moral perfection, which is its ground, is intimated. 



38 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

the head of the burnt-sacrifice: and it shall be accepted for 
him to atone for him. 5. And he shall slay the steer before 

It is the crowning characteristic of propitiation. Before the Lord. At 
the door of the tent of meeting, of the Father's home ; at the throne 
of grace, though it may be afar off, and by a mediator, he appears to 
present the atoning sacrifice. 

4. Lay* Ms hand. The verb, to lean upon, does not seem to have 
any stress upon it here. It does not mean to press upon, but simply to 
lay. Laying the hand on is the solemn act of designating or destina- 
ting to a certain purpose. Thus Joshua is formally destined to be the 
successor of Moses (Num. xxvii. 8, 23). So here the ox is destined to 
be symbolically all that is implied in the burnt-sacrifice. This signifi- 
cant act has come down to us from a hoary antiquity. Jacob lays his 
hands on Joseph's sons to bless them (Gen. xlviii. 14). When the 
English phrase represents the verb denoting to stretch forth, violence 
is often meant by it (Gen. xxii. 12 ; Ex. vii. 4). The laying on of the 
offerer's hand is expressive of his faith, his trust in the revealed mercy 
of God, and his acceptance of the ransom which he has provided. It. 
shall be accepted for him. This is the positive part of justification, 
and is prominent and emphatic in the burnt-sacrifice. To atone 4 for 
Mm. Literally, to cover, to place a covering over him, sheltering him 
from the penal consequences of sin, as well as investing him with the 
endowment of righteousness by the suffering and obedience of another 
in his stead. Atonement is of the same import with propitiation, 
which is thus expressly ascribed to the burnt-sacrifice. The positive 
part of justification always involves the negative, which is pardon. • 

5. He shall slay. 5 Slay is a more general word than sacrifice, which 
is limited to the slaying of victims. The taking of life from the victim is 
the expiation. The moral law is summed up in the eighth command- 
ment, Thou shalt not steal (see on Ex. xx. 15), that is, Thou shalt not 
take by force or guile that which is not thine. If this law be violated, 
the transgressor is bound to restore the property stolen. This is satis- 
faction. But this is not all the law of right demands of the wrong-doer. 
It requires this and something more of the borrower, who has done no 
wrong. This is therefore no punishment. To understand what the 
punishment must be, let us come to the ultimate case, that of the 



LEVITICUS I. 5. 39 

the Lord ; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall offer the blood, 
and sprinkle the blood upon the altar around, which is at 

creature disobeying the Creator. Whatever may be the amount of 
self-beguiling here practised, there is at the root of all such disobedi- 
ence the determination to thwart the will, the uniformly and wholly 
good and holy will, of the Author of his being on the part of the crea- 
ture. Such a fixed determination, by its very existence, it is evident, 
forfeits the life that was given, even before the attempt is made to 
carry it into effect. When it is actually executed, therefore, the 
offender by the very act forfeits life. Death, be it remembered, how- 
ever, is not annihilation. As life is not mere existence, but a holy 
and happy state of being, so death is not mere loss of existence, but 
the wreck of all the joys and hopes of a rational and susceptible 
being, an unholy and unhappy state of being. Death alone, then, can 
avenge defiance of the Creator. This is expiation, the penalty incurred 
by sin. Hence, if we are to have expiation by another, by a mediator, 
it must be by death. The slaying of the victim, then, is the real ex- 
piatory sacrifice. The steer, literally the son of the herd. This in- 
cludes the calf 5 of a year old and the bullock or ox of greater age. 
And Aaron's sons, the priests. Any one of them was sufficient for the 
duty. The high priest himself merely presided on these occasions. 
The previous acts, it is to be observed, are performed by the offerer 
himself. The priest now comes forward. He has to appear, because 
the brute creature is not sufficient to signify all that is done by a 
mediating act, which can only be effected by a person. Even the 
merely human priest, though a person, is only a figure of the real 
mediator in this process, since he is disqualified by his fallen nature, as 
well as otherwise, for actual mediation. As mediator he has two parts 
to perform, one for the offender and another for the offended. These 
come out in the sequel. The blood, which is the life of the victim 
(Gen. ix. 4), is solemnly presented by the priest for the life of the offerer, 
and accepted by the God of mercy who has appointed the atonement. 
This is the first act of the priest, as distinct from the worshipper. In 
the primeval state the head of the house was priest for himself and 
his household. The priests are not only to present the blood, but to 
sprinkle it on the altar of God, to indicate palpably that the expia- 



40 THE BURNT-SACRIFICES. 

the door of the tent of meeting. 6. And he shall flay the 
burnt-sacrifice, and cut it into its pieces. 7. And the sons of 
Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay wood 
upon the fire. 8. And Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the 

tion is made to him. In this act the priest represents the sinner, 
tendering a positive and negative satisfaction to the law on his behalf. 
The blood is the negative satisfaction ; the freedom from blemish in 
the victim whose blood is shed expresses the positive satisfaction. 
The altar, 5 literally the place of slaughter, because the victim was 
eometimes laid bound on the altar, and there slain (Gen. xxii. 9, 10). 
Around, on all sides, in token of completeness. At the door of the tent 
of meeting. The space in front of the door of the tabernacle was a 
square of fifty cubits, or about seventy-five feet. The altar was situ- 
ated probably about twenty-five feet from the gate of the court, and 
the laver half way between it and the door of the tabernacle 
(Ex. xxvii. 18; xxx. 18). At the distance of fifty feet, therefore it 
was said to be at the door of the tabernacle. 

6. And he, the worshipper. Shall flay. It is not necessary to seek 
a meaning in every minute detail of the process. Yet, the flaying 
of the victim presents a striking figure of the moral nakedness pro- 
duced by sin. It also points to the coats of skin with which our first 
parents were clothed. Its pieces, the pieces into which the animal 
was usually cut for consumption as food. These were said to be 
twelve in number. 7. And the sons of Aaron. The second act of 
the priests was to burn the sacrifice on the altar. Preparatory to 
this they put the fire and wood upon the altar. This mechanical part 
might have been performed by an inferior priest or a Levite, had it 
not been connected with the altar. At all events when the fire was 
once kindled, it was kept perpetually burning (Lev. iv. G), so that 
this act had only to be performed once. 8. And Aaron's sons. This 
is apparently a third part, but in strict reality, the second part, of the 
priest's office, for which the putting on of the fire was a mere prepa- 
ration. Abarbanel, indeed, states that as the worshipper had five 
things to do, namely, to lay his hand on the victim, kill, flay, cut it 
up, and wash the inwards, so the priest had five things to do, namely, 
to receive the blood in a vessel, to sprinkle it, to put fire on the altar, 



LEVITICUS I. 8, 9. 41 

pieces, the bead, and the tallow upon the wood that is on the 
fire which is upon the altar. 9. But its inwards and its legs 
shall he wash with water : and the priest shall burn the whole 

lay on the wood, and lay the pieces on the wood. This is important, 
as it indicates to whom the several parts were assigned in the estima- 
tion of the Jewish Rabbis. 8 The -pieces, the head, and the tallow. 8 
The head is here distinguished from the pieces, because it was removed 
before the division into pieces. The tallow is a word that occurs only 
three times, twice in this chapter and once in the eighth. It is so 
rendered simply to distinguish it from the usual word for fat. This 
was taken in a mass from the inwards. In all sacrifices it was con- 
sumed by fire on the altar. 9. Its inivards and its legs. These parts 
are washed, because it was meet and customary to wash them before 
they were used for food. The hind legs, 9 which are chiefly meant by 
this word, are particularly liable to be defiled in animals. Shall he, 
the worshipper. Wash. All the acts that are not connected with the 
altar are performed by the worshipper himself. And the priest. At 
the close of the process it is said that the priest shall burn the whole 
upon the altar, which is merely the completion of the second function 
he has to discharge. This second part he performs as the representa- 
tive of the merciful God, who by this significant act accepts the death 
and obedience of the substitute on behalf of the penitent offender. 
This is manifest from the fact that the Lord on certain great occasions 
kindles the altar-pile without the intervention of the priest (Lev. ix. 
24; Judg. vi. 21 ; 1 Kings xviii. 38). Thus we see there are four 
parts in the great work of atonement : the righteousness and the death 
of the victim, and the presentation and the acceptance of these by 
which they become a propitiation. Righteousness can only be ren- 
dered and penal death can only be suffered by a moral agent, and for 
a man by a man. Hence the true victim can only be a person. This 
same person it is who intervenes to present satisfaction from himself 
to God, and receive acceptance from God to himself for the penitent, 
believing offerer. "With equal certainty it may be affirmed that the 
latter two parts can only be performed by a divine person. It is not 
competent to any mere. creature to present his obedience or his death 
for another, simply because he has not the requisite independence. 



42 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

upon the altar, a burnt-sacrifice, a fire-offering of a sweet 
smell unto the Lord. 

He who owes all to his Maker cannot by any possibility answer for 
another. And this is the condition of every creature. Much less 
can any creature take upon himself to accept on the part of God the 
service of the substitute on behalf of the penitent. Shall burn? turn 
into smoke and odor. Fire here performs the part of the digestive 
organ in man. Hence the sacrifice is called bread or food (Lev. iii. 
11 ; xxi. G). It resolves the sacrifice into its elementary parts, which 
mingle as eases and flavors with the air of heaven. It thus comes as 
a grateful perfume "before the sense of smell. The whole. The whole 
victim is burned upon the altar to represent the fall propitiation for 
sin. The burnt-sacrifice is also the model and complex of all sacrifices, 
and on this account it is fitting that the whole should go up on the 
altar. But a further reason is that it is the propitiation not for a 
particular transgression, but for a sinful state, with all its outward 
manifestations. A burnt-sacrifice, a lifting, a thing going up on the 
altar, a general name for a sacrifice. If taken from another root 
denoting wrong or moral evil, 9 it would mean a propitiation for moral 
evil, and would still be a term of broad and deep significance. It 
points to the great propitiation by which atonement is made, once for 
all, on behalf of returning, hoping, penitent man. This he pleads at 
the beginning of his new life, and continues to plead as long as he is 
subject to sin and temptation. A fire-offering ; a firing or offering 
made by fire. This belongs to the burnt-sacrifice but not exclusively. 
It is common to all offerings that were laid on the altar. Of a sweet 
smell? The sense of smell is akin to that of taste. It is naturally 
introduced here, where the offering by fire has diffused itself through 
the air in savory fumes. It is a refined species of taste, and therefore 
the fitter to symbolize a spiritual feeling. The sweetness, acquiescence, 
or satisfaction is expressive of the intense pleasure which is derived 
from the odor which scents the air. Unto the Lord. This lifts us up 
from the region of sense, and reminds us that we are on the heights 
of the moral consciousness. By the highly expressive figure of an 
exquisite perfume is conveyed to us the pure delight, the supreme 
complacence, with which the Lord regards and receives the propitiation 



LEVITICUS I. 10- 13. 43 

10. And if his offering be of the flock, of the sheep or of 
the goats, for a burnt-sacrifice, a perfect male shall he offer. 
11. And he shall slay it at the flank of the altar northward 
before the Lord : and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle 

for the sins of man made by the all-sufficient Mediator. This atone- 
ment springs from the benign purpose of his own merciful breast. 
It has been tendered by one who is infinitely able and worthy and 
willing to interpose. And it is gladly accepted by him who is merciful 
and gracious, as well as holy and true. 

Such is the burnt-sacrifice. It is the sum and substance of all 
sacrifice. It includes expiation and satisfaction, which are combined 
in propitiation. The trembling sinner who lays his hand on the head 
of the victim is fully aware that its whole intent and content is the 
Mediator doing and dying, bleeding and interceding, feeling and 
bearing, for the sinner, and that the sinner's feeling in presenting it is 
altogether external to its intrinsic significance. They gravely err 
who imagine that the sacrifice of Scripture is the expression of self- 
surrender on the part of the offerer. 11 It is the offering of it that 
expresses the feeling of the offerer. The sacrifice itself expresses 
solely the feeling and dealing of the Mediator for the trustful penitent 
who ventures, in the tumult of his spiritual emotions, to lay his hands 
on it. Let us carefully distinguish here. In the burnt-sacrifice we 
have on the part of the offerer, penitence and trust; on the part of the 
Mediator, expiation and propitiation ; and on the part of the Accepter, 
pardon and acceptance. The first may be expressed by the single 
word faith, the second by atonement, and the third by justification. 
It is obvious to the judicious reader that the atonement is the direct 
theme of this chapter, and that the feelings of the offerer and the 
Accepter lie comparatively in the background. 

10-13. The sheep or goat for a burnt-sacrifice. This was designed 
for the middle class, who could not afford the steer. The regulations 
are in substance the same as before. 11. At the flank 11 of the altar, 
northivard. The place where the victims were to be slain is now 
indicated for the first time. The one specification supplies what is 
wanting in the other. This affords room for a little variety in the 
statement. The place assigned for the slaughter of the burnt-sacrifice 



44 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

its blood upon the altar around. 12. And lie shall cut it into 
its pieces, with its head and its tallow ; and the priest shall 
lay them upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the 
altar. 13. And the inwards and the legs he shall wash with 
water ; and the priest shall offer the whole, and burn it upon 
the altar ; it is a burnt-sacrifice, a fire-offering of a sweet smell 
unto the Lord. ^f 

14. And if his offering to the Lord be a burnt-sacrifice of 
the fowl, he shall make his offering of the turtles or of the 
pigeons. 15. And the priest shall offer it at the altar, and 
pinch off its head, and burn it on the altar: and its blood 

is expressly extended to the sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering, 
and serves no doubt for all sacrifices. The north, according to Tholuck, 
is selected because it is the cold and dark region, and therefore akin 
to death. The altar was no doubt regarded as facing the tabernacle. 
The place of slaughter was in that case at the right hand, which is 
strong to smite. The place of offering was, according to Jewish tra- 
dition (Joseph. Jewish Wars, V. 5, G), at the left hand, which is near 
the heart, and is often employed in giving. The cup-bearer presented 
the cup on his left hand. The place of ashes was in the rear, and the 
place of the laver in the front. Ezekiel, indeed (xliii. 17) states that 
the steps in his symbolic altar are to look toward the east. But this 
probably means that the ascent, though on the south side, was not at 
right-angles, but parallel to it, and rising from the east, a not unusual 
and much more convenient arrangement for those who officiated. The 
prohibition of steps to the altar (Ex. xx. 26), seems to refer to the open 
ladder which was in use at the time, and not to the earthen slope or 
the boarded or enclosed stair. 12. With its head and its tallow. The 
preceding verb is used in a pregnant sense, to signify taking off the 
head and tallow, as well as dividing the body into its pieces. 

14-17. The dove or pigeon for a burnt-sacrifice. The fowl is 
allowed as a burnt-sacrifice for the poorest class. The turtle-dove 
and the pigeon were common in Palestine. They were suitable em- 
blems of innocence. 15. Pinch off its head. The head seems to 
have been immediately laid on the altar, as it had to be burned along 



LEVITICUS L 16, 17. 45 

shall be poured out on the wall of the altar. 16. And he shall 
take away its crop with its dirt, and cast it beside the altar 
eastward in the place of the ashes. 17. And he shall cleave 
it witli its wings, but not divide it : and the priest shall burn it 
upon the altar, on the wood that is on the fire: it is a burnt- 
sacrifice, a fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord. § 

with the body. The blood is to be squeezed out on the wall of the 
altar. 16. Its crop with its dirt™ The first "its" refers to the fowl; 
but the second refers to the crop, and hence its contents, and not the 
feathers, as the Sept. has it, must be the meaning of the word in the 
original (Rosenm.). This is to be cast on the ash-heap at the east 
end of the altar. 17. Cleave it with its wings. He is to split it up 
the middle, so that a wing is on each side, but not to complete the 
separation. 

In all these victims we see the four essentials of the burnt-sacrifice, 
the perfection and the death of the victim, the sprinkling of the blood 
and the burning of the body upon the altar. The slaying and the 
sprinkling of the blood symbolize the expiation for sin. The per- 
fection and the burning of the whole shadow forth the satisfaction 
made by a perfect obedience. The two combined constitute the pro- 
pitiation in its symbolic form. This sacrifice comprehends the essence 
of all the sacrifices. It was presented on account of sin as a habitude 
of the fallen soul at the commencement of a religious profession as 
the only mode of access to God, and at fitting seasons as the sole 
ground of its continuance, in the morning and evening of every day on 
the national altar, in all the great festivals, and on other suitable occa- 
sions. It is thus distinguished from the sin-sacrifice and the trespass- 
offering, which referred to particular acts or occasions of sin, and from 
the sacrifice of peace, which was expressive of the blessings of fellow- 
ship with God. It was distinguished from the oblation, as a sacrifice 
for sin is distinct from a mere gift of gratitude or acknowledgment. 

NOTES. 

1. Tent, ^i~K, it consists of a haircloth awning. It is different 
from "jbisb , the mansion, consisting of the wall of boards with an inner 



46 THE BURNT-SACRIFICE. 

curtain of linen (Ex. xxvi. 1, 12). In the tabernacle the former 
covered the latter. 

2. Offering, "jSp.!? , a tiling brought near ; the general name for any 
thing presented to the Lord. There were three classes of Corbanim : 
1. Dedication gifts for the sanctuary; 2. Taxes for the maintenance 
of worship (first-fruits, tithes, first-born), and 3. Altar-offerings (Kurtz 
on Sacrifice). The word is here applied to the latter alone. 

3. Burnt-sacrifice, nby, that which goes up, to wit, on the altar. 
b*^3 , whole, is applied to it in 1 Sam. vii. 9, and is presumed to denote 
it in Deut. xxxiii. 10. In Ps. li. 2 it seems distinct from it. It is 
also applied to the priest's oblation (Lev. vi. 15) and to many other 
things. Perfect, CPEfi, having no blemish or defect in health or parts. 
C; This freedom from blemish symbolizes the sinlessness and holiness 
of the true sacrifice" (Keil), but not at all the sanctification of the 
worshipper, who is not the burnt-sacrifice, nor that of which it is the 
symbol. For his acceptance, iDix*tf? , to gain for him acceptance with 
God. This demonstrates the propitiatory nature of the i~b'v against 
all who deem it a mere expression of devotion. It is corroborated by 
the following verse. Of his own will, iaiS^S, or rather in the present 
connection !"JMb (Lev. vii. 16; 2 Chron. xxxv. 8). 

4. Lay, Tf?S , literally lean. It cannot denote " a transfer of the 
feelings of the offerer to the victim," because it is not the present dis- 
position of the worshipper that propitiates, which is here declared to 
be the end of the burnt-sacrifice. To atone, "iQsb , to cover another, 
by standing over him to bear what he has incurred and do what he 
has failed to do, that he may not only escape the penalty of his sin, 
but obtain the reward of obedience. This is a term of fundamental 
importance in this book. The plain statement that the nbb, atones 
proves that it does not denote the " self-surrender " of the offerer, as 
Keil and others think. 

5. Slay, EJTJ , is very often used of the slaying of victims, though 
hat is the technical word for sacrifice. Calf byj; ox, *,B. Alter, 
nata , place of sacrifice. 

8. The five acts of the priest are reducible to two ; the former in- 
cluding the receiving and sprinkling of the blood, and the latter the 
laying on of the fire, the wood, and the pieces of the victim. • These 
two acts might, after the first occasion, be decorously performed in two 



LEVITICUS II. 47 

minutes by one priest, and in one minute by two. Tallow I^Q , adcps 
a came sejunctus (Boch.), the mass of fat separable from the intestines. 

9. Legs, D"v7?, the hind legs, with which the locusts leap (xi. 21) ; 
r. S"}3, bend, crouch as the lion on his hind legs (Gen. xlix. 9). 
Barn, ""^pr; , burn as incense, rnbp , that which is burned as incense 
on the altar. This makes a point of connection between the brazen altar 
and the golden altar. Burnt-sacrifice, !~iVp sometimes tibiv ; which may 
be compared with r.Vo' , wickedness. This would be like r^^n , sin 
and sin-sacrifice, crx , trespass and trespass-offering ; But see on vs. 3. 
A sweet smell, KirriTPi'H , a savor or odor of acquiescence or compla- 
cence. This proves that the fire-offering denotes propitiation by the 
victim, not self-surrender by the worshipper. It concurs also with 
previous statements to show that the sprinkling of the blood and the 
burning of the flesh are related, not as the justification and sanctifica- 
tion of the saved (Keil), but as the obediential passiva et activa of the 
Saviour. The former would be a strange mingling of the outward 
work of the mediator with the inward disposition of him for whom he 
mediates in the one sacrificial process. 

11. Flank, X\$\i literally thigh, and hence the hinder part of the 
side. 

16. Its dirt, fir:ib, from KS?, go forth. The suffix is feminine, and 
therefore refers to tM^yo , crop. If it meant feathers, it would be from 
n^,fee. 



H. THE OBLATION. 

The oblation, or meat-offering, is simply a gift or donation consisting 
of some vegetable product, mainly grain or meal in some form, to the 
Lord as expressive of good works as the ground of the means of life, 
of this life primarily, and ultimately of eternal life. It either accom- 
panied a proper sacrifice or implied a previous atonement, on the 
ground of which alone it could be acceptable. Of these there are three 
kinds here mentioned, the second admitting of three varieties. The 
show-bread and other forms of oblation will present themselves 
afterwards. 

1-3. The oblation of flour. 1. An oblation. 1 This term we may 
use to denote the meat-offering as a special kind of the more general 



48 THE OBLATION. 

II. 1. And when a soul makes an offering of an oblation 
unto the Lord, his offering shall be flour ; and he shall pour 
oil upon it, and put frankincense upon it. 2. And he shall 
bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests, and he shall take thence 
his neaf-ful of its flour and of its oil with all its frankincense ; 
and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, a 

offering ; namely, the offering of grain, as a vegetable product, which, 
had a propitiatory, but no expiatory, significance. Flour, line wheaten 
meal. Oil, the pure extract of the olive tree. Frankincense. Oliba- 
num, the thus or frankincense of the ancients, is said to be a gum-resin 
exuded from the Boswellia thurifera or libanus, of the natural order 
Burseraceae, which grows in Arabia and India. The three ingredients 
which thus enter into the oblation are significant of the perfect obe- 
dience, and entire consecration that are due to God. The oil is the 
emblem of a hallowed mind, illuminated and purified by the Spirit of 
truth ; the frankincense, of a holy will rising to heaven in prayer and 
intercession (Rev. v. 8) ; and the flour, of the active and productive 
power of a spiritual nature. These are the qualities of him who is 
at once the Righteousness and Intercessor of the penitent believer. 

2. And he shall take thence. From v. 12 it appears that it was the 
part of the officiating priest to take the handful. This is in keeping 
with the previous clause. When the worshipper brings it to the 
priest, we expect the latter to act. Such an act accords also with the 
priest receiving the blood. His neaf-ful? This old word enables us 
to give a distinct term in the version for the distinct term in the 
original. It means the hand made hollow for the purpose of grasping 
and holding it full. The Rabbis describe it as the three fingers bent 
over the palm, and the thumb and the little finger closing the aperture 
above and below. It is probable the original handful was larger than 
this seems to be. It was to include part of the meal and oil and the 
whole of the frankincense. And the priest. This is the principal and 
properly sacerdotal act, to which the taking of the handful was merely 
preparative. Hence the writer is careful to mention expressly that 
the priest burns the handful on the altar. The memorial of it, the 
portion which brings to remembrance the whole offering itself, and 



LEVITICUS I. 2-5. 49 

fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord. 3. And the 
remnant of the oblation shall belong to Aaron and his sons : it 
is a thing most holy of the fire-offerings of the Lord. § 

4. And if thou make an offering of an oblation baken in the 
oven ; it shall be of flour, sweet cakes mingled with oil, or 
sweet wafers anointed with oil. § 

5. And if thy offering be an oblation on a pan, it shall be 
of flour, sweet bread mingled with oil. 6. Thou shalt break 
it in pieces, and pour oil thereon ; it is an oblation. § 

therewith him who offered it before the Lord ; not, as some say, the 
odor of it, which is mentioned afterwards. A fire-offering of a sweet 
smell. It is hence to be regarded as itself propitiatory in its nature, 
and presupposes the sacrifice that both expiates and propitiates. 
3. And the remnant. The whole belongs to the Lord to whom it has 
been presented. The memorial is gone up as a perfume into the air 
of heaven. The remnant is assigned by the Lord to his priests. A 
thing most holy. This extraordinary holiness pertains, it seems, to that 
which makes atonement or is consecrated or devoted to God, which 
therefore belongs entirely to him, and hence to the oblation, the sin- 
sacrifice, the trespass-offering, the vow, and the thing devoted. The 
burnt-sacrifice is not expressly distinguished as most holy, probably 
because no part of it was to be eaten. Eating by the priest was a 
mode of acceptance as well as consuming by fire on the altar. 

4-13. The oblation of cakes or baked meat. Of this there are 
three varieties. 4. The first is cooked in the oven. Baken, or cooked. 
This kind of oblation is thus distinguished from the former, which con- 
sisted merely of undressed flour. In the oven, the portable oven, or 
large baking vessel, which is still used in the East. Sweet* unleav- 
ened, the one a positive term like the original, the other a negative. 
Cakes* perforated or round, of a convenient thickness for a substantial 
meal. Mingled with oil. The oil is not poured on them when shaped, 
but mingled with the flour, and kneaded up in it. Wafers, pan-cakes, 
or thin cakes. Anointed, spread or smeared with oil after being 



5, 6. The second kind of baked flour is prepared on a pan, an iron 

7 



50 THE OBLATION. 

7. And if thy offering be an oblation in a pot, it shall be 
made of flour with oil. 8. And thou shalt bring the oblation 
that is made of these unto the Lord : and he shall present it 
to the priest, and he shall bring it unto the altar. 9. And 
the priest shall lift from the oblation the memorial of it, and 
burn it upon the altar, a fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the 
Lord. 10. And the remnant of the oblation Aaron and his 
sons shall have : it is a thing most holy of the fire-offerings 
of the Lord. 11. No oblation which ye shall offer unto the 
Lord shall be made with leaven ; for ye shall burn no leaven 

plate (Ezek. iv. 3), still used by the Arabs and other Orientals for 
baking round cakes or bannocks. It is also mingled with oil and 
unleavened. 6. Break it in pieces. Such fritters soaked in oil or 
butter are common among the Bedouins. 

7-13. The third kind is boiled in a pot. a deep vessel used for 
boiling. Hence this oblation was a kind of pudding. The ingredients 
are flour and oil. 8. Thou shalt bring. It is to be brought unto the 
Lord, into the court of the tabernacle, the dwelling-place of the Lord. 
He shall present it. The person is here changed from the second to 
the third ; a deviation not unusual. Here it serves to generalize the 
rule. Bring it to the altar. The agent here is usually considered to 
be the priest. If, however, it be the offerer, he merely brings it to 
the priest who stands by the altar. In this case it simply completes 
the previous statement. 9. And the priest. His agency now certainly 
begins. Shall lift? This is the word from which the terumah, or 
heave-offering, is derived. But it seems to be used in the ordinary 
sense of raising or taking up (Keil; see Lev. iii. 3; iv. 8). The 
memorial of it, not now a handful, but a single cake, or a spoonful of 
the fritters or pudding. The frankincense is wanting in the second 
kind of oblation. 

11-13. Two general directions concerning the oblation are here 
given. It is to contain leaven never and salt always. 11. No oblation 
.... made with leaven. Leaven is a portion of sour dough, which, 
when mingled with the fresh mass, sours it also. No leaven nor 



LEVITICUS II. 11-13. 51 

nor honey in any fire-offering unto the Lord. 12. An offering 
of first-fruits ye may make of them unto the Lord ; but they 
shall not go upon the altar for a sweet smell. 13. And every 
offering of thy oblation shalt thou season with salt ; and thou 
shalt not stop the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy 
oblation. On all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. § 

honey. 11 The latter word certainly denotes the honey of bees (Judg. 
xiv. 8). A "kind of syrup is made in the East from the grape or the 
date which the Arabs call dibs. Some suppose this was also denoted 
by the Hebrew word. The honey of bees is gathered from the cups 
of flowers, and is therefore mainly a vegetable product, and partakes 
of the qualities of the plants from which it is taken, and hence it is 
sometimes poisonous. It is capable of the vinous fermentation, and 
therefore may, like leaven, cause the fermentation of dough. Fer- 
mentation is a kind of decomposition, and consequently of corruption. 
It therefore symbolizes evil, and that which is capable of this signifi- 
cance is excluded from the offerings of the altar. 12. An offering 
of first-fruits. 12 First-fruits here is the first of any product of the field. 
The- first-fruits of both sour dough and honey are to be accepted. 
But they shall not go up on the altar as a fire-offering, as they cannot 
be accepted as a sign of propitiation or consecration. 13. Season with 
salt. Salt, in contrast with leaven, has the quality of preserving from 
corruption or putrefaction. It serves, therefore, to typify integrity 
and security, qualities which comport with salvation. Of the covenant. 
The covenant is the compact, expressed or understood, which necessa- 
rily arises from the co-existence of moral beings standing in some 
tangible relation to one another. In the present case it is the compact 
between Jehovah and man, the terms of which are exhibited in the 
law, or the written revelation communicated by Moses and enlarged 
by successive prophets. One term of the covenant of grace is, that 
a mediator and substitute for fallen man should fulfil the law and 
suffer the penalty of its breach. A covenant so fulfilled on behalf of 
man can never fail him who relies on it. It is a covenant of salt 
forever (Num. xviii. 19). The use of salt to indicate the stability 
and perpetuity of the covenant was known among all nations. On all 



52 THE OBLATION. 

14. And if thou offer an oblation of early fruits unto the 
Lord, ears parched in the fire, grits of the first grain thou 
shalt make the oblation of thy early fruits. 15. And thou 
shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon : it is an 
oblation, 16. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, 

thine offerings. This shows that the use of salt was not confined to 
the oblation, but was common to all kinds of offerings. 

"14-16. The third kind of oblation, that of early fruits. The early 
fruits were the first portion of the fruits of the earth presented to the 
Lord, as an acknowledgement that the whole came from him, in order 
that all the after-fruits gathered in might be blessed and consecrated 
for the use of the pious owner. 14. Ears u of corn, fully formed, but 
still tender. This gave the name of Abib to the first month of the 
sacred year, which contained the vernal equinox, and was therefore the 
month of green ears in Palestine. Parched in the fire. The Syrians, 
Arabs, and Kopts were wont to broil or toast the soft ears in the 
blaze of the fire. Grits. u The grits, or scorched grains, were then 
separated from the straw and chaff. The fresh grain} 4 " This word 
means a fruitful field or cultivated garden, and then the vegetable 
product which grew on it. Here it denotes the full grown, but still 
tender, wheat. The grain thus prepared was roasted on a pan and 
regarded as a very palatable dish. 15. The frankincense here appears 
again along with the oil. 16. This oblation is treated in the same 
way as the first. 

The offerer presents these means of nourishment and enjoyment as 
the fruit of perfect obedience on the part of the Mediator between 
himself and his God. Representing this obedience they are accepted. 
The Creator confirms the worshipper in the possession of all earthly 
blessings, and in these as types of greater things, even of all heavenly 
blessings needful for the soul. It is manifest that the oil is the emblem 
of the Spirit's influence, as the incense is the symbol of the Redeemer's 
work. The bread also bears a relation to the Father, who giveth bread 
fco his children. It is obvious, also, that the Messiah, as a prophet, 
gives light to the mind, as a priest, makes intercession for the soul, 
and as a king, bestows the bread of fife on his people. In these two 



LEVITICUS II. 53 

of its grits and of its oil, with all its frankincense, a fire-offering 
unto the Lord. ^f 

chapters we have the two great classes of offerings expounded to us 
in their primitive form. The oblation was apparently at first compre- 
hensive of both the bloodless and the bleeding offerings, as the offer- 
ings of both Cain and Habel were called by this name (Gen. iv. 4, 5, 
When the burnt-sacrifice received a distinct name (Gen. viii. 20), the 
oblation came to be limited to the vegetable offering. In a fallen 
world where an atonement is needed, the oblation comes in merely as 
the companion or humble follower of the sacrifice, which represents 
the full propitiation for sin. 

NOTES. 

1. Oblation, ttrup , gift, tribute, offering. This is an early word, 
occurring in Gen. iv. 3, 4. It is there inclusive of both animal and 
vegetable offerings. Its special meaning as a vegetable offering appears 
first in Ex. xxix. 41. Flour nbb, fine, sifted wheaten meal. Frank- 
incense, ftnb, the luban of the Arabs. Hence, Olibanum. 

2. Neaf, ynp , the hand closed upon its contents. It occurs only 
three times, here and in Lev. v. 12 ; vi. 8. The verb means to take 
a, handful. 

4. Sweet, ftSjra , compact, close in the grain, and not raised or swollen 
by leaven. The cognate para means to squeeze or suck out. Sweet is 
a secondary quality retained in the absence of leaven. Cake r&n, 
from bbn , perforate (Ges.) be round (F.). 

9. Lift, D*>7.? whence iTQSpttn, a lifting, heaving. 

11. Honey, iunn. The root probably means to knead or press 
together (Ges. F.). 

12. First-fruits, W»ttton, now of vegetables ; but sometimes also 
the firstlings of cattle. 

14. Early fruits, misa, in this form always applied to vegetable 
products. Ears of Corn, MK, from SS^, bud or shoot, as grain. 
Parched, •«&£, also, "teg-. Grain, bais, a fruitful field, and hence 
the fruit of the field, whether of the tree or the herb. 0^3, vineyard, 
and also choice vine. 



54 THE SACRIFICE OF PEACE. 



HI. THE SACRIFICE OF PEACE. 

The sacrifice 1 is distinguished from the burnt-sacrifice by this, that, 
while the burnt-sacrifice was a victim wholly consumed upon the altar, 
the sacrifice was a victim of which the flesh was eaten by the offerer, 
and those whom he invited to partake of it. In this we have a kind 
of sacrificial feast, very familiar to all ancient nations. Mention is 
made of it as early as Gen. xxxi. 54, where Jacob made a sacrifice 
on the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread. Here the sac- 
rifice ends in a common meal, representing the blessings of the new 
life of reconciliation with God. In like manner Jethro offered sac- 
rifices to God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat 
bread with him before God (xviii. 12). On this ground the passover 
is a species of the sacrifice (Ex. xii. 27 ; xxxiv. 25), in which the whole 
family shared as heirs together of the benefits of redemption. The 
same characteristic, namely, of a solemn feast of the worshippers upon 
the victim, appears more or less distinctly in all the notices of the 
sacrifice ; for example, in 1 Sam. ii. 13 ; ix. 12 ; xx. 29, and 2 Chron. 
vii. 4, 5. In accordance with this, the sacrifice is often added as a 
distinct thing from the burnt-sacrifice, as in Ex. x. 25 ; Lev. xvii. 8 ; 
Num. xv. 3-5 ; 2 Kings v. 17 ; Josh. xxii. 28. We find also the three 
kinds of offering discussed in the first three chapters of our book 
enumerated as a triad in Josh. xxii. 29, and Jer. xvii. 26. From all 
this we are warranted to infer that in the sacrifice, strictly so called, 
the believing, hoping worshipper eats the flesh of the victim as a 
solemn feast before the Lord, in token of his participation in the rights 
and means of eternal life flowing from the propitiation for sin. It 
reaches beyond the burnt-sacrifice therefore, as the benefits resulting 
from propitiation reach beyond the propitiation itself. By the holo- 
caust the sinner enters into the kingdom of grace ; by the sacrifice he 
enjoys all the privileges and blessings of the kingdom into which he 
has entered. 

The ordinary species of this sacrifice is the sacrifice of peace. 1 This 
phrase appears first in the time of Moses (Ex. xxiv. 5 ; xxxii. 6) ? 
after the redemption from Egypt and the renewal of the covenant. 
It is rendered sacrifice of salvation (Sept.), of sanctities (Onk.), of the 
pacific (Jer.), of thanksgiving (Trem.), or of the perfect (Gerund.). 



LEVITICUS in. 1, 2. 55 

III. 1. And if his offering be a sacrifice of peace, if he 
offer of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it 
perfect before the Lord. 2. And he shall lay his hand upon 

The reasons are even more various than the renderings. We may 
combine most of the renderings by understanding that it is the sac- 
rifice of those who are already saved, sanctified, at peace with God, 
thankful for his grace, and perfect in the substitute he has provided. 
The burnt-sacrifice is the propitiation by which the worshipper is 
reconciled to God ; and hence it stands at the beginning of the new 
life, and refers to the ground and rise of that life. The sacrifice of 
peace is an act and expression of fellowship with God after he has 
been reconciled. It is strictly a symbolic realization of the blessings 
of salvation. Hence it follows the burnt-sacrifice, and attests the free- 
dom of access, which the children of God have to him in all the joys 
and sorrows of life on earth (Lev. vii. 13 ; Judg. xx. 26). This is its 
leading characteristic. Still it is a bleeding sacrifice, to intimate that 
access to God is only and always through the intercession of a media- 
tor who. has opened the way by a true and full propitiation. Thus we 
perceive that the burnt-sacrifice signifies propitiation, the oblation 
intercession, and the sacrifice of peace communion consequent upon 
propitiation and intercession. As the holocaust expresses that which 
is necessary for all, provision is made in the dove or pigeon for its 
being open to the poorest. As access to God is the privilege of his 
people without the speciality of another offering, the sacrifice of peace 
is voluntary. It is, therefore, a male or a female, of the herd or of 
the flock only, because a dove or pigeon would not suffice for the social 
meal. Three kinds of sacrifice of peace are mentioned in Lev. vii. 
12-16. The chapter before us contains regulations for one of the 
herd (1-5), or of the sheep (6-11), or a goat (12-17), as a peace 
sacrifice. 

1-5. One of the herd for a sacrifice of peace. 1. A sacrifice of 
peace. 1 This is the usual phrase in Leviticus. Male or female. The 
liberty of choice arises partly from the spontaneous nature of the 
offering. Perfect. It is to be remembered that it is a sacrifice, and 
every victim represents the mediator, who must be himself of spotless 
integrity. 2. All the particulars here mentioned are the same, and 



56 THE SACRIFICE OF PEACE. 

the head of his offering, and slay it at the door of the tent of 
meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the 
blood upon the altar around. 3. And he shall offer of the 
sacrifice of peace a fire-offering unto the Lord, the fat that 
covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards. 
4. And the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is 
by the flanks ; and the caul upon the liver, with the kidneys 
he shall take it away. 5. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on 

have the same meaning as in the whole sacrifice. The slaying of the 
victim and the sprinkling of the blood denote expiation, which is one 
part of the prelude to fellowship. 3, 4. And he shall offer. This 
refers to the worshipper. The whole victim is not here to be laid on 
the altar. The completeness of the sacrifice has been already indi- 
cated by the burnt-sacrifice. The fat. The pieces that consist of fat 
are here selected for the fire-offering. The fat is expressive of the 
holiness which pertains to the substitute, as the blood is significant of 
the penal death which he has undertaken to suffer. The two go to 
make up what is called righteousness, or active and passive obedience 
Lo the law for the sinner. The fat is sufficient to shadow forth the 
satisfaction made by an active obedience, and the flesh is reserved for 
another purpose (Lev. vii. 11-18). This purpose is not here men- 
tioned, because this chapter is entirely devoted to the sacrificial part 
of the service. That covereth the inwards. Quain informs us that 
" the fat is collected in large quantity round certain internal parts, 
especially the kidneys. It is deposited beneath the serous membranes, 
or is collected between their folds, as in the mesentery and omentum." 
The fat that covers the inwards appears to be that connected with the 
gastro-colic or great omentum which covers the bowels. The fat upon 
the inwards is connected with the mesentery and the adjacent parts. 
The flanks? the inner muscles of the loins in the region of the kid- 
neys. The caul 4 upon the liver seems to be the small omentum which 
bounds part of the liver and the stomach, and comes into the region 
of the kidneys, which is itself surrounded with the tunica adiposa, a 
bed of fatty matter. He, the offerer, shall take it away. 5. Aaron's 
sons now come forward to perform the second part of their office. On 



leviticus in. 5-11. 57 

the altar upon the burnt-sacrifice which is upon the wood that 
is on the fire, a fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord, ^f 
6. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace unto the Lord 
be of the flock, male or female, he shall offer it perfect. 7. 
If he make his offering of a lamb, he shall offer it before the 
Lord. 8. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his 
offering, and slay it before the tent of meeting : and Aaron's 
sons shall sprinkle its blood upon the altar around. 9. And 
he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace a fire-offering unto the 
Lord ; the fat of it, the entire tail, hard by the spine he shall 
take it off; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the 
fat that is upon the inwards ; 40. And the two kidneys, and 
the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul 
upon the liver, with the kidneys he shall take it away. 11. And 

the burnt-sacrijice. Not after the manner of the burnt-sacrifice, but 
upon it (Lev.'vi. 5). The daily burnt-sacrifice was offered every 
morning, and upon this was placed the fat parts of the sacrifice of 
peace. This is in keeping with the relation subsisting between them. 
After, and upon the sacrifice of propitiation, comes that of com- 
munion. A fire -offering. The fire-offering is always propitiatory ; 
that is, it affords a legal ground of acceptance, as appears from the 
qualifying words " of a sweet smell unto the Lord." The blood, then, 
expiates, the fat propitiates ; the two form the condition of access to 
God and fellowship with him. The disposal of the flesh which 
remains to complete this important form of sacrifice is afterwards 
determined (Lev. vii. 11-21). 

6-1 1. The lamb for a sacrifice of peace. The process here is the 
same as before. 8. Before the tent of meeting; before the Lord. 
9. The entire tail? The tail of the broad-tailed sheep (ovis laticaudia) 
weighs at least ten or twelve pounds, and consists almost wholly of 
marrowy fat. Hard by the Spine? This word is found only here, 
and must denote the end of the backbone or rump. 11. The food. 
This corresponds with the " sweet smell," the one pointing to the sense 
of taste, and the other to that of smell. It is properly introduced 
8 



58 THE SACRIFICE OF PEACE. 

the priest shall burn it upon the altar, the food of the fire- 
offering unto the Lord. ^[ 

12. And if his offering be a goat, he shall offer it before the 
Lord. 13. And he shall lay his hand upon its head, and slay- 
it before the tent of meeting : and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle 
its blood upon the altar around. 14. And he shall make of it 
his offering, a fire-offering unto the Lord, the fat that covereth 
the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards ; 15. 
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is 
by the flanks, and the caul upon the liver, with the kidneys 
he shall take it away. 16. And the priest shall burn them 
upon the altar ; all the fat is the food of the fire-offering for 
a sweet smell unto the Lord. 17. It is a perpetual statute for 

here where an account is given of the sacrifice of access to God and 
fellowship with him. The breaking of bread is the act of communion. 
Food is the appropriate emblem of all that is delightful in itself or 
conducive to happiness. When transferred to moral things it denotes 
perfect obedience to the moral law (Jno. iv. 34 ; vi. 35), which is the 
object on which God looks with the utmost complacence. This is the 
very thing which is represented by the fat on the altar of propitiation. 
The food, or bread of God, is that which is burned on the altar or 
reserved from it to be eaten by the priests (xxi. 21, 22). 

12-17. The goat for a sacrifice of peace. The ritual here is a 
repetition of the former. 14. Make of it his offering. He shall offer 
a portion of it, namely, all the pieces of fat already specified. 16. All 
the fat. The fat, as we have seen, is that which represents holiness 
of heart and life in the substitute and mediator. All the fat that is 
formed into separate masses is therefore to be reserved for the altar. 
Here the " food " and the " sweet smell " are combined in the same 
sentence ; and the senses of taste and smell are so akin as to be parts 
of a greater whole. 17. A perpetual statute. The covenant is an 
everlasting covenant ; and the mode of its exhibition lasts as long as 
the existing state of things continues. For your generations, from 
generation to generation, until a new order of things demand a new 



LEVITICUS III. 17. 59 

your generations in all your dwellings. Ye shall eat no fat 
nor blood. ^f 

economy, and of course, until the substance comes, of which all these 
sacrifices are the shadows (Ex. xii. 14). In all your dwellings. Not 
only at the tabernacle in Shiloh and the temple of Jerusalem, but in 
the towns and villages and homes where ye dwell shall this statute, as 
far as possible, be observed (Ex. xii. 20). No fat nor blood. This is 
the part of the statute that is to be of universal obligation. No blood 
or fat is to be eaten. The blood shed, the cause of death, is set apart 
to denote expiation and foreshadow the death of the great Expiator. 
The fat burned, the emblem of righteousness, is in like manner 
reserved to signify satisfaction and prognosticate the righteousness of 
the Holy One and the Just, who is to magnify the law by his perfect 
obedience. The two combined form the symbol of propitiation. 

We have not yet exhausted the meaning of the sacrifice of peace. 
We have merely contemplated the part of it which is properly a sac- 
rifice ; and in this respect it corresponds with the burnt-sacrifice in 
denoting propitiation. It is, therefore, so far the echo of the burnt- 
sacrifice. It will come before us in its proper and full light as an act 
.of communion when we arrive at chap. vii. Meanwhile, the three 
kinds of offering already described have been occasionally noticed in 
the previous books of the law, and in this respect differ from those 
which follow. They have also a unity in themselves, as they refer 
to the beginning and progress of a life of reconciliation with God. 
The burnt-sacrifice, the oblation, and the sacrifice of peace are the 
three great offerings which are presented with an obvious reference to 
the fallen state of man, but without reference to any particular instance 
of transgression. By this they are distinguished from the sin-sacrifice 
and the trespass-offering, which refer to particular offences. They 
cover the whole experience of the man of God ; the burnt-sacrifice 
always referring to the propitiation, by which he is reconciled to God, 
the oblation to the intercession, on the ground of which the confession 
of dependence and gratitude and the consecration of himself and all 
that he has to the Author of his being and his hope are accepted, and 
the sacrifice of peace to the access to and fellowship with his Heavenly 
Father, which have been opened up to him by the whole-sacrifice of 



(JO THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

propitiation. This ritual proves itself by its whole significance to be 
a type awaiting the antitype, a shadow forecasting the coming substance. 
In this respect it is eminently adapted to the nature of man, who 
stands with his back to the past and his face to the future, and expects 
the childish things of sight to give way to the loftier things of hope. 
Man, like his Maker, is the former of purpose. 

From all these considerations it is obvious that the first five chapters 
fall into two distinct parts, three referring to offerings which constitute 
in themselves a complete whole, and two concerning offerings which 
are occasional and secondary, and of themselves form a minor unity. 
Accordingly a new communication begins in the fourth chapter. 

NOTES. 

1. Sacrifice, fist — Feast, Salra. Thus, according to Homer, the 
blameless Ethiopians entertained the deities at a feast for twelve days ; 
in which, of course, the inviting worshippers feasted on the flesh of 
the victims offered to the celestials (Iliad, I. 423), and thus Agamem- 
non sacrificed a fat five-year-old ox to the supreme deity of the 
Greeks, and invited a party of the chieftains to partake of the good 
cheer (Iliad, II. 402). Avery graphic account of such a sacrificial feast 
is given in Iliad, I. 446—476. Sacrifice of peace, D" 1 ^^ l"!3t, sacrifice 
of or concerning the rights, hopes, and duties of peace with God.' 
Also, DiaVa D^n?? (Ex. xxiv. 5), or D^bd alone (Ex. xxxii. 6 ; Num. 
vi. 8). In Sept. Ovcrta o-oiT-qpiov, in Vulg. hostia pacificorum. 

4. Flanks, t^B3. Here and in vs. 10, 15; iv. 9; vii. 4. In this 
sense the word occurs elsewhere only in Job xv. 27 ; Ps. xxxviii. 8. 
The caul, WW, that which is over and above. It occurs twice in 
Ex. xxix. and nine times in Leviticus, always in connection with 113, 
the liver. 

9. The tail, n^bx. Root, not in use, be stout, thick, fat. This word 
occurs for the first time in Ex. xxix. 22, and hereafter only in Lev. 
vii. 3 ; viii. 25 ; ix. 19. The spine, FiS3>, only here. «1S3>, make firm. 

IV. THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

In the next two chapters are three communications, of which the 
first (iv. 1-v. 13) refers chiefly to the sin-sacrifice, and the remaining 
two (v. 14-26) to the trespass-offering. Both of these offerings are 



LEVITICUS IV. 61 

special sacrifices provided for particular offences. They are called sin- 
sacrifices or trespass-offerings, according as the sin or the trespass 
comes into the foreground. Sin 1 is the deviation in intent, act, or 
disposition from the path of rectitude, the transgression of the law. 
Trespass 1 is the moral wasteness, the failure, the guilt in the sense of 
indebtedness to the party wronged for the positive right which has 
been infringed and ought to have been rendered. The transgression 
of the law has a twofold aspect; the right undone and the wrong done. 
If the transgressor were to do afterwards the right which had been 
undone, he would only have done what the righteous man had all 
along done, and was bound to do. To demand therefore no more of 
him than such amends or compensation would be to treat him as well 
as the righteous man who had never deviated from rectitude or had 
injured his neighbor by accident without ill-intent. This cannot be 
the law of equity. Hence, we are constrained to admit that a penalty 
is incurred by the transgressor, distinct from mere amends, proportional 
to the gravity of the offence. The offender is bound not only to do 
the right, but to undo the wrong. Amends, then, and punishment are 
the two legal claims against the transgressor. This is a conclusion 
from the first principles of morality, altogether apart from the inter- 
pretation of the sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering. But this essen- 
tial distinction finds its counterpart in these two kinds of offering. 
The penalty stands in the foreground in the sin-sacrifice ; the com- 
pensation in the trespass-offering. The negative requital or suffering 
deserved is regarded in the former ; the positive righteousness required 
is contemplated in the latter. Hence expiation takes the lead in the 
sin-sacrifice ; propitiation in the trespass-offering. And so they often 
accompany one another, to denote the more emphatically a full pro- 
pitiation, including both expiation by an adequate penalty and positive 
satisfaction by a perfect obedience. The grounds of this interpreta- 
tion will come out in the course of the exposition. Meanwhile it may 
be observed that the same offence is called a sin and a trespass, and 
for the same offence both a sin-sacrifice and a trespass-offering are 
often provided, and that death is prominent in the former and compen- 
sation in the latter. 

The fourth chapter treats of the sin-sacrifice, strictly so called, and 
deals first with the high-priest (1-12), then with the whole assembly 



62 THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

IV. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel, saying, If a soul sin in error against any 
of the commandments of the Lord, as to what should not be 



(13-21), then with the prince (22-26), and lastly, with one of the 
people (27-35). It is addressed to Moses, and designed for the people 
whose conduct it is to regulate. 

1-12. The sin-sacrifice for the high-priest. 1. And the Lord spake. 
This formula is now introduced the second time, indicating a new 
communication and a second topic. The sacrifices in these two chap- 
ters differ from the former in referring to special acts of sin. 2. This 
verse contains a general heading, which applies to the whole chapter. 
The sons of Israel. Israel is the prince that had power with God and 
prevailed (Gen. xxxii. 28), and the sons of Israel are, therefore, the 
people of God with whom he has entered into a covenant of peace. 
This is of moment for the right understanding of what follows. If a 
soul. A moral and responsible being, susceptible of pleasure and 
pain and liable to temptation. Sin. In this fallen world there is no 
man that sinneth not. Certainly not David nor Solomon. And cer- 
tainly not the professors of faith and repentance in the present day, 
though they may be free from the grosser offences of a more unculti- 
vated age. Those who, it is here supposed, may fall into sin are 
within the commonwealth of Israel, having received the sign of 
circumcision and offered the sacrifice of propitiation. If the latter 
have been an act of genuine faith, they are born from above and par- 
takers of a spiritual nature. Yet they are liable through remaining 
infirmity and under temptation to commit sins of inadvertence. In 
error. 2 This is an important word in this and the following chapter. 
The sins of God's people cannot go beyond errors into which they fall 
through want of watchfulness or consideration. On the other hand, 
sins committed with a high hand, a defiant pride, or a deliberate 
knowledge and intent are marks of a heart still estranged from God, 
and prove those who are guilty of them, notwithstanding their pro- 
fession, to have no claim to be reckoned among the people of God 
(Gen. vi. 5 ; Num. xv. 30 ; Deut. xvii. 12). Such persons have either 
made no profession of return to God, or if they have, are either self- 



LEVITICUS IV. 1, 2. 63 

done, and do against any of these. 3. If the anointed priest 
sin to the guilt of the people, then he shall offer for his sin 
which he hath done a bullock of the herd perfect unto the 



deceivers or hypocrites. Such is the criterion of godliness. Such is 
the serious lesson to professors of religion, intimated in this significant 
word. Witting and wilful transgressors are by the very fact excluded 
from the covenant for the time being, whatever change of mind may 
come afterwards. Against any of the commandments 2 of the Lord. 
This is a very comprehensive phrase, which may denote any part or 
the whole of his revealed will. There are two sorts of obligation to 
a particular duty, that of intrinsic equity, and that of extrinsic 
authority. A law is binding either in itself or from its source. The 
former is called a moral law or ethical principle, which carries its light 
and force in itself. The latter is called a positive law or authoritative 
command, which derives its obligation from him who imposes it. The 
Creator is the ultimate source of all authority, and he alone has a 
right to claim unreserved obedience to his holy will. The command- 
ments of the Lord have therefore this second ground of obligation, as 
indeed the very term indicates. When his commandments are dis- 
tinguished from his charge, his statutes, and his judgments (Deut. 
xi. 1), they appear to denote specially the moral law, which thus in- 
cludes the twofold obligation of equity and authority. From the 
present passage we learn the fundamental characteristic of sin. It is 
a deviation from the commandment of Jehovah. A wrong done to a 
neighbor is at the same time an infringement of the command of God, 
and in this respect partakes of the character of sin. But it is specially 
to be noted that this chapter throughout refers to sin against God, the 
covenant God of the people, and not to that committed against a fel- 
low creature. In the former the redress to be made is a minimum, 
for we cannot really rob God ; but the penalty to be endured is a 
maximum, because he that is wronged is the Author of our being. 
In the latter the reverse of both these points holds good. 

3-12. We come now to the special case. The anointed 5 priest. 
This implies that there were priests who were not anointed, or at 
least not in the same solemn way. The only distinction of importance 



64 THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

Lord for a sin-sacrifice. 4. And he shall bring the bullock to 
the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord ; and lay his 
hand upon the bullock's head, and slay the bullock before the 
Lord. 5. And the anointed priest shall take of the bullock's 

must be between the high priest and the other members of the priestly 
order. He was to have a special anointing at his investiture and con- 
secration (Ex. xxix. 7 ; Lev. viii. 12, 30). And besides, he only had a 
dignity parallel with that of the whole assembly (vs. 13). The anointed 
priest therefore appears to mean the high-priest. Sin. The very sup- 
position of sin in him implies that we are in the land and time of type 
and shadow. Here is only a high-priest that hath infirmity (Heb. vii. 
27, 28). He serves therefore only unto the example and shadow of 
heavenly things (Heb. viii. 5). To the guilt 3 of the people. If the 
high-priest sin, if he fail in any point, if he be not morally perfect, 
the propitiation which he mediates is null and void, and so the guilt 
of the sinful people for whom he is to mediate remains unremoved. 
They are still naked and exposed to the doom of unexpiated sin. No 
lower meaning, such as bad example, false teaching, or faulty ministra- 
tion, conveys the full significance of the phrase. It is not the moral 
defect merely, but the incompetence of one morally imperfect to make 
an atonement, that leaves the people helpless in their guilt. To remedy 
this defect in the type, the law provides an expiation even for the 
atoner, and thus enables the people to look forward with confidence to 
the real Atoner. For a sin-sacrifice. 3 The old name sin-offering is 
not altogether wrong. It expresses a truth, namely, that there is an 
offering. But it is only a secondary truth ; while the primary fact, 
namely, that it is a sacrifice, a life given for my life by another who 
has not failed like me, and who is entitled to take upon him this office 
of self-denying love, is left in the back-ground, or rather in the dark. 
For this paramount reason we must disregard custom and, what we 
regret still more, old association, and use the less euphonious name sin- 
sacrifice, if it were only to impress more emphatically, on those who 
may cling to the old phrase, the real meaning of the thing so desig- 
nated. That the chattath is a sacrifice for sin is obvious from the 
statement of the text. It is equally obvious that expiation, or the 



LEVITICUS IV. 4-7. 65 

blood, and bring it to the tent of meeting. 6. And the priest 
shall dip his finger in the blood, and spatter of the blood seven 
times before the Lord on the face of the veil of the sanctuary. 
7. And the priest shall put of the blood upon the horns of the 
altar of incense before the Lord, which is in the tent of meet- 
ing ; and all the blood of the bullock shall he pour at the foot 
of the altar of burnt-sacrifice, which is at the door of the tent 

bearing of the punishment of sin by dyingvis the leading, characteristic 
of the sin-sacrifice. 4, o. He that has sinned : inadvertently, as in the 
case of the burnt-sacrifice, offers, lays on his hand, and slays the victim. 
The anointed priest here officially takes and brings the blood (iv» 16).. 
We learn from this that the taking and bringing of the blood was not 
the strictly sacerdotal act. This follows in the next verse. 6. And the- 
priest, not the high-priest, who was in this case the inadvertent sinner 
for whom expiation had to be made, but the officiating priest of the- 
day or the occasion. Dip his finger in the blood. The blood that 
expiates is the chief thing in the sin--sacrifice. And spatter? This, 
expresses the action of the finger dipped in the blood by which the 
drops of blood are cast upon the object to which it is to be applied. 
It is usually performed with the finger, though sometimes with a sprig 
of hyssop (2sum. xix. 18). Seven times. Seven is the number of 
perfection and the signature of the covenant (Gen. xxi. 28). It ex- 
presses the fulness and efficacy of the expiation. Before the Lard. 
It is added, " on the face of the veil of the sanctuary." Here we 
have a threefold use of the blood. First, it is dropped seven times on 
the veil of the sanctuary before the Lord. The altar of propitiation 
and the altar of intercession are passed by, because the offerer of the 
sin-sacrifice has been already accepted through the burnt-sacrifice. 
Hence, he comes to the mercy-seat with the drops of the victim's blood 
pleading for the pardon of his inadvertent sin. Still it is only before 
the veil he stands and spatters. The way into the holiest is not yet 
made manifest. The type is but an imperfect shadow. And hence 
though the worshipper is " before the Lord," yet a veil hangs between 
him and the divine presence. 7. Next the blood is put upon the 
horns of the altar of incense ; and lastly all the blood that remains is 



66 THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

of meeting. 8. And all the fat of the bullock of sin-sacrifice 
he shall lift from it ; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all 
the fat that is upon the inwards : 9. And the two kidneys, and 
the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul 
upon the liver, with the kidneys he shall take it away. 10. As 
it was lifted from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace : and 
the priest shall burn them upon the altar of burnt-sacrifice. 
11. And the bullock's skin and all its flesh, with its head and 
with its legs, and its inwards and its dung ; 12. Even the 



poured at the foot of the altar of burnt-sacrifice. This may indicate 
the purging of these altars from guilt which the sin of inadvertence 
on the part of the man of God had occasioned. But it also implies 
that the propitiation already made is not robbed of its efficacy by the 
inadvertent sin. Hence it appears that the mercy-seat partakes of 
the nature of an altar, inasmuch as blood is directed towards and 
applied io it We have, then, the altar of propitiation, the altar of 
prayer, and the .altar of mercy, which is the throne of grace. At the 
first wb have the priest sacrificing, at the second the priest-prophet 
interceding, at the third the priestly and prophetic king pardoning 
and accepting. 8-10. The fat is burned upon the altar, as in the 
sacrifice of peace. It expresses satisfaction, and, with the blood, 
makes up propitiation. 11, 12. The whole of the following differences 
serves to distinguish the sin-:sacrifice for a sin of inadvertence after 
being received into the covenant of grace from the whole-sacrifice by 
which propitiation was effected, and from the sacrifice of peace, by 
which the communion of the saints in the blessings of salvation was 
symbolized. The whole bullock, destitute now alike of all life and of all 
power, yet still having a palpable hold of existence as a carcass. The 
blood has expiated, and the fat has satisfied.; the two conjoined have 
propitiated. The whole victim is not burned on the altar, because 
this sacrifice is not for one in the state and course of alienation from 
God, but for a particular sin of a regenerate soul that has been already 
accepted through an atonement. Neither is it to be reverently and 
thankfully partaken of by the offerer^ because it is a symbol of expia- 



LEVITICUS IV. 8-12. 67 

whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a 
clean place at the pouring out of the ashes, and burn it on 
the wood with fire ; at the pouring out of the ashes it shall 
be burned. 

tion, and not of fellowship. Yet the whole belongs to the Lord, and 
is most holy, as everything that expiates must in itself be. Shall he 
carry forth. The party for whom the sacrifice is made is to carry it 
forth, or cause it to be carried forth. Without the camp. While in 
itself most holy, it is as the bearer of sin accursed, and therefore is 
carried out of the holy precincts. Unto a clean place. The residue 
of the victim being most holy is to be deposited in a place free from 
defilement and convenient for its destruction by fire. Such is the 
place of the ashes which have been taken from the altar of propitia- 
tion. And burn 12 it. This is the completion of the death which is 
the penalty of sin. The word "burn" here is different from that 
which is used to denote turning into odor or perfume on the altar. 
It signifies merely to destroy by fire ; whereas the other means to 
incend or consume as incense. The former is the burning of wrath ; 
the latter the burning of complacence. Hence this act is the deepen- 
ing and perpetuating of that penal death, which is otherwise simply 
expressed by the slaughter of the victim. Extrusion from the holy 
ground and destruction in the place of ashes lend an awful emphasis 
to that second death which follows the sin that knows no penitence. 
There is a significance in the sin of the high-priest, or of the whole 
congregation, which renders this exhibition of the penal consequence 
of sin peculiarly necessary. By the sin of the high-priest the pro- 
pitiation fails in its primary condition, that of the perfection of the 
mediator ; and so all is lost for the whole church. Hence the extent 
of the expiation for his sin is set forth in the most distinct and solemn 
form ; and its perpetuity is incidentally intimated. 

This completes the account of the sin-sacrifice, the main burden of 
which is the expiation of sin by the death of an adequate substitute. 
The blood is applied to all the three altars which appear in the sanc- 
tuary in the most distinct and formal manner. The fat, indeed, is 
consumed on the altar of burnt-sacrifice, because propitiation can 



68 THE SIN-SACEIPICE. 

13. And if the whole assembly of Israel err, and the thing 
be hid from the eyes of the congregation, and they have done 
somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord, as 



never in practice be separated from expiation. But after all, the 
whole carcass of the bullock is burned, not incensed or turned into a 
sweet smell on the altar, but consumed by fire in the place of ashes, in 
token of the utter destruction which sin brings on its subject. 

13-21. The sin-sacrifice for the congregation. 13. The whole assent- 
blif. 13 In the original there are three words, not clearly distinguished 
an the English Version, which we may render assembly, congregation, 
and meeting. The idah, or assembly, was a regularly-appointed and 
well-defined body of men. The smallest number that constituted an 
assembly among the Jews was ten heads of families. The idah also 
-denoted the representation of the people in lawful convention, con- 
sisting of the princes of tribes, heads of clans or houses, the elders, 
the judges, and the shoterim, or officers, as they are called in the 
English Version. This was the public council, the members of which 
seem to have been the called of the assembly mentioned in Num. i. 16 ; 
xvi. 2. The assembly, or largest idah, consisted of the men of twenty 
years and upward, who were called the numbered of the assembly 
(Ex. xxxviii. 25). The cahal^or congregation was simply a multitude 
or a nation assembled or incorporated with common rights. With the 
definite article it usually denotes the whole body of the people. The 
unbed, or meeting, was a set time of meeting, or a stated festival or 
convention held at such a time. It is the word constantly used in the 
phrase which has been rendered tent of meeting. It is obvious that 
the idah, or regularly constituted assembly, is the only body whose 
act could bring responsibility and guilt on the whole congregation. 
The act of <am individual, however, had the same effect (Josh. vii.). 
Err, comm,it a «in through inadvertence. Sinning with a high hand, 
or being still in a state of estrangement from God, requires other 
handling. The blah, or burnt-sacrifice, is the way by whieh a penitent 
sinner is reconciled to God. Hid from the eyes of the congregation, 
which is different from the assembly, whether this be the council or 
the legally constituted convention of- the nation. The cah-al includes 



LEVITICUS IV. 13-20. 69 

to what should not be done, and are guilty, 14. And the sin 
in which they have sinned be known, then the congregation 
shall offer a bullock of the herd for a sin-sacrifice, and bring 
it before the tent of meeting. 15. And the elders of the 
assembly shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock 
before the Lord ; and one shall slay the bullock before the 
the Lord. 16. And the anointed priest shall bring of the 
bullock's blood to the tent of meeting. 17. And the priest 
shall dip his finger in the blood, and spatter seven times before 
the Lord the face of the veil. 18. And he shall put of the 
blood upon the horns of the altar, which is before the Lord, 
that is in the tent of meeting : and all the blood he shall 
pour at the foot of the altar of burnt-sacrifice, which is at 
the door of the tent of meeting. 19. And all its fat he shall 
lift from it, and burn upon the altar. 20. And he shall do 

the women and children and old men. And are guilty. 13 It is evident 
from this that the word rendered guilt denotes not a distinct class of 
offences from sin, but merely a different aspect of the same offence. 
For here the people who have sinned are said to be guilty in regard 
to the self-same act. Hence the question is not what kind of trans- 
gression is a sin and what kind is a trespass, but in a given offence 
what is the sin and what the trespass. Now in every transgression 
there are two things, and no more : a wrong done, and a right undone. 
The wrong done is the sin which demands punishment; the right 
neglected is the trespass which calls for redress Hence it is plain, as 

the text states, that he who sins is guilty. 14. And the sin be 

known, that is, when it becomes known. The congregation shall offer, 
by their representatives. 15. The elders. These are the primeval 
representatives of the people (Gen. 1. 7; Ex. iii. 16; xii. 21). And 
one shall slay. The original is indefinite. One of the elders by him- 
self or his minister performs this part on behalf of the congregation. 
16, 17. The priest is different from the anointed priest. Both take 
part in this solemn rite. 18, 19. The process is here precisely the 
same as in vs. 7-10 of the foregoing paragraph. 20. And he shall do, 



70 THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

to the bullock as was done to the bullock of the sin-sacrifice, 
so shall he do to it : and the priest shall atone for them, and 
it shall be forgiven them. 21. And he shall carry forth the 
bullock without the camp, and burn it as the first bullock 
was burned : this is the sin-sacrifice of the congregation. ^[ 

22. When a prince sinneth and doeth aught against any 
of the commandments of the Lord his God, as to what should 
not be done, in error, and is guilty. 23. If his sin wherein 
he hath sinned, be known to him, then he shall bring his 



the officiating party shall proceed as with the former bullock in all 
that has been briefly prescribed concerning this. The priest shall 
atone for them. To atone is to propitiate in the full sense, and so it 
is done here, though the expiation has the chief place. It shall be 
forgiven. Forgiveness is remission of the penalty of sin, the negative 
part of justification. This corresponds with the end of the sin-sacri- 
fice, which is to expiate for sin. It is the part of the mediator to 
atone ; it belongs to the Being who has been offended to forgive. 
Propitiation does not preclude the necessity of forgiveness, but only 
provides for the lawfulness of it. The unconquerable spirit of true 
forgiveness displays itself in providing and in accepting the ransom. 
The counterpart of forgiveness is acceptance, which is prominent in 
the burnt-sacrifice (i. 3, 4). 21. He shall carry. The offerer shall 
do so himself or by his agent. The offerer is here the congrega- 
tion, who must of necessity act by their representative. And burn it. 
The sin of the whole congregation annuls the covenant, and forfeits 
its benefits on the part of the whole community. Hence it has the 
same effect as that of the priest ; and this result is exhibited in the 
burning of the whole carcass of the substitute in the place of ashe 
This paragraph thus confirms and illustrates the preceding one. 

22-26. The sin-sacrifice for the prince. 22. A prince. The head of a 
tribe, clan, or family (Num. iii. 24). 23. Wherein he hath sinned. 
This is a mere variation for "which he hath done" (vs. 28). Be known 
eventually, that is, become known to him. A kid of the goats. The 
kind of offering is suited to the rank of the individual. Upon the horns 



LEYITICUS IT. 25-27. 71 

offering a kid of the goats, a perfect male ; 24. And he shall 
lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and slay it in the 
place where the burnt-sacrifice is slain before the Lord.» 25. 
And the priest shall take of the blood with his finger, and 
put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-sacrifice ; and shall 
pour out its blood at the foot of the altar of burnt-sacrifice. 
26. And all its fat he shall burn upon the altar, as the fat 
of the sacrifice of peace : and the priest shall atone for him 
from his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. ^f 

27. And if any soul of the people of the land sin in error, 
by doing aught against the commandments of the Lord, as to 
what should not be done, and be guilty ; 28. If his sin which 

of the altar of burnt-sacrifice. In the former instances the blood was 
spattered on the veil, and then applied to the horns of the altar of 
incense. By this it was intimated that the sacrifice was made on 
behalf of one already accepted through the burnt-sacrifice of propitia- 
tion. The same is now indicated by applying the blood, not to the 
sides, where the blood of the burnt-sacrifice was sprinkled, but to the 
horns of the altar, which were nearer heaven. Hence it is manifest 
that the application of the blood means the same thing to whatever 
altar it is applied. 26. The flesh of the victim is not directed to 
be carried out as before, but, as we learn afterward (vi. 19), is 
to be eaten by the officiating priest in the holy place. This differ- 
ence arises, no doubt, from the fact that in the case of the priest or 
the congregation inadvertently sinning the covenant is virtually made 
void for the whole community of the faithful, whereas the inadvertent 
sin of the individual only affects himself, and leaves the covenant in 
full force in regard to all others. The flesh in this case goes with the 
fat to make the propitiation ; the fat by being consumed on the altar, 
the flesh by being eaten by the priest in the holy place. Atone for 
him from his sin. This is a pregnant expression, denoting to make 
atonement for him and deliver him from the penal effects of his sin. 
Forgiveness follows as before. 

27-35. The sin-sacrifice for one of the people. 27. Any soul. An 



72 THE SIN-SACRIFICE. 

he hath done be known to him, then he shall bring his offer- 
ing a kid of the goats, a perfect female, for his sin which he 
hath done. 29. And he shall lay his hand upon the head 
of the sin-sacrifice, and slay the sin-sacrifice in the place of 
the burnt sacrifice. 30. And the priest shall take of its blood 
with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of 
burnt-sacrifice ; and pour out all its blood at the foot of the 
altar. 31. And all its fat he shall take away, as the fat is 
taken away from the sacrifice of peace ; and the priest shall 
burn it upon the altar for a sweet smell unto the Lord ; and 
the priest shall atone for him, and it shall be forgiven him. ^f 
32. And if he bring a lamb as his offering for sin, he shall 
bring it a perfect female. 33. And he shall lay his hand 
upon the head of the sin-sacrifice, and slay it for a sin-sacrifice 
in the place where the burnt-sacrifice is slain. 34. And che 
priest shall take of the blood of the sin-sacrifice with his finger, 
and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-sacrifice, and 
pour out all its blood at the foot of the altar. 35. And all 
its fat he shall take away, as the fat of the lamb is taken 
away from the sacrifice of peace ; and the priest shall burn 



individual of the people. 28. A perfect female. The distinction 
between the sacrifice for the prince and that for one of the people is 
merely in the gender of the victim. 29-31. The mode of sacrifice is 
precisely the same as in the case of a prince. The words " for a sweet 
smell " are inserted here in reference to the burning of the fat on the 
altar, and are, no doubt, to be understood in all the previous cases. 

32-35. A lamb. This is an alternation allowed for the kid. The 
mode is unaltered. 35. Upon the fire-offerings. The morning sac- 
rifice is a burnt-sacrifice and a fire-offering; and others may have 
been presented after it and before the present one. But the expres- 
sion is significant for the place of the sin-sacrifice, which is for the 
inadvertent sin of the believer in God after he has been reconciled by 



LEVITICUS IV. 35. 73 

them on the altar upon the fire-offerings of the Lord : and 
the priest shall atone for him for his sin that he hath done, 
and it shall be forgiven him. If 

the burnt-sacrifice of propitiation. Atonement and forgiveness follow 
as usual. 

NOTES. 

2. In error, FJ3M93, in Sept. aKovcruos, involuntarily. Command- 
ment, illSSi , when used in a strict sense, a moral precept. Charge, 
rfyefflo , a function to be discharged by an official. Statute, ph, a 
positive enactment, including any precept of civil or ecclesiastical law. 
Judgment, I3Bu3e , a judicial decision or sentence having the force of 
common law. 

3. Anointed, PpttJa ; hence Messiah. Guilt, *tqibk , indebtedness or 
liability for a righteousness which should have been, but has not been, 
rendered, either by the party guilty or by the substitute ; r. be waste. 
Sin-sacrifice, nttan , missing the mark, swerving from the line of rec- 
titude, sin, and then sin-sacrifice. 

6. Spatter, fAT) , different from p'nt , sprinkle. The latter denotes 
a more plentiful diffusion, as it refers to the whole of the blood when 
it was applied to the sides of the altar of burnt-sacrifice. The former 
refers only to the few drops which fall from the shaken finger on the 
veil or the mercy-seat. 

12. Burn, Cftto , used of the burning of towns, houses, corpses, bricks, 
lime, and the like. We have not a word in English to distinguish 
"VBpJtt, turn into perfume, from ordinary burning. Incend is too 
unfamiliar. 

13. Assembly, WTO, a stated and regularly summoned meeting, con- 
sisting of a definite number of members when fully convened. Con- 
gregation, Viig , a nation or indefinite body, of which the assembly is 
some legal convention greater or smaller. Meeting, ^Wia, appoint- 
ment, time or place of appointed meeting, meeting. Be guilty, DlTX , 
become a moral waste, be a debtor for the righteousness which should 
have been, but was not done; in this sense, be guilty. Trespass, 
Ettja, the defect or want of righteousness toward another, which is 
therefore a trespass against him ; the liability for the positive right- 
eousness which has been left undone ; primarily in this sense, guilt. 

10 



74 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 



V. THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

We have already seen that in propitiation two distinct things are 
included, expiation and satisfaction. In expiation the mediator bears 
the penalty of sin, and the sinner who trusts in his mediation is freed 
from it, or pardoned. In satisfaction, strictly so called, the mediator 
renders a perfect obedience to the law, and the penitent sinner who 
relies on his good offices is justified or accepted and treated as right- 
eous, as well as pardoned. The sin-sacrifice represents chiefly the 
expiation, as we have seen; the trespass-offering chiefly the satis- 
faction, as we shall see. The former has been already explained ; the 
latter is unfolded in the present chapter. Those who hold that sin is 
one kind of offence and trespass another are in a difficulty about the 
first part of this chapter (1-13). Some hold that the sin-sacrifice is 
continued in this passage, and the trespass-offering treated of in the 
remainder; others maintain that the trespass-offering forms the subject 
of the whole chapter. It is quite true that the first thirteen verses 
are a continuation of the communication begun in chap. iv. But when 
we understand that every moral offence is both a sin and a trespass, 
we come to perceive that this chapter refers chiefly to the trespass, 
while the former dwells upon the sin, involved in every violation of 
morality. It is to be observed that the previous chapter refers through- 
out to a deviation from "the commandment of the Lord," to acts 
" which should not be done," because they were contrary to the 
Divine will. These, then, are offences against the whole moral law, 
as commanded by God. On the other hand, in the first part of the fifth 
chapter the offences are against the civil and ceremonial law, or 
trespasses arising between neighbors. This is a sufficient warrant for 
separating this portion, and assigning it to a new chapter. At the 
same time it unfolds to us the ground for calling the offerings pre- 
scribed in this passage by the generic name of trespass-offerings (vs. 6). 
For in an offence against God the sin is the chief thing, and the 
trespass is subordinate in importance. The penalty, therefore, is 
prominent, and the sin-sacrifice, which alludes mainly to expiation, 
is the first thing needful. And hence the preceding chapter necessarily 
treats of the sin-offering. But in an offence directly involving my 
neighbor the trespass is the chief thing, and the sin falls into the 



LEVITICUS V. 1. 75 

Y. 1. And when a soul sins and hears the voice of an oath 
and is a witness, whether he have seen or known of it, if he tell 

shade. The trespass cries for redress, and accordingly the trespass- 
offering points primarily to the satisfaction which is included in pro- 
pitiation. The first paragraph, then, of this chapter referring to 
transgressions of man against man or by man, with no less propriety 
treats of the trespass-offering. The examination of the whole chapter 
will be an instructive illustration of these distinctions. 

The former chapter treated of particular acts of inadvertent sin, 
distinguishing the rank of the transgressor and varying the regulations 
accordingly. This chapter specifies certain classes of offences for 
which a special mode of atonement is prescribed. It contains three 
parts, the remainder of one divine communication (1-13), and the 
whole of two others. In the English Version the second of these 
forms the beginning of chap, vi., after the Sept. and Vulg., which is 
an illogical arrangement. 

1-13. Four forms of sin for which a special mode of atonement is 
prescribed. 1. First case: neglecting to give evidence when required. 
And when a soul sins. We must observe that throughout this chapter, 
as throughout the former, the moral offence is invariably called a sin, 
(vs. 5, 15, 17, 21). Hears the voice of an oath, hears the voice of 
adjuration, of the judge adjuring him. In some cases the witness did 
not himself pronounce the form of oath, but heard it addressed to him 
by the judge (1 Kings xxii. 16; Matt. xxvi. 63). Or known of it. 
Witnesses are here divided into two classes, those who have seen the 
occurrence in question, and those who have become aware of it in 
some other way. If he tell it not. The adjured, when questioned, is 
bound to give evidence in a case of law. Bear his iniquity. 1 Iniquity, 
that is, deviation from equity, is a very suitable rendering for the 
original word. To bear iniquity is to take its legal consequences. 
The transgressor bears his own iniquity when he suffers the penalty 
of it, or is still liable to suffer it. The mediator bears the iniquity of 
another when he takes his place and suffers for him. The party 
offended bears the iniquity of the other when he accepts the satis- 
faction made by the mediator, or, in other words, takes it away 
from the actual offender and lays it on the substitute whom he has 



76 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

it not, and bear his iniquity, 2 . Or if a soul touch anything 
unclean, either a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of 
unclean cattle, or a carcass of an unclean creeper, and it be 
hidden from him, and he be unclean and guilty, 3. Or if he 
touch the uncleanness of man, according to all his uncleanness 
wherewith he is denied, and it be hid from him, and he know 
of it, and be guilty, 4. Or if a soul swear to utter with the 

provided. In this last case it is usually rendered to forgive, though it 
really means to accept an atonement for the offender. 

2. The second case : ceremonial defilement. Touch anything un- 
clean. This is a general phrase which may apply to this and the 
following verse. The uncleanness here spoken of is ceremonial. We 
know that " there is nothing unclean of itself." Ceremonial unclean- 
ness, then, is typical of moral defilement. It can only have a place or 
a meaning in a world where sin has entered. Three kinds of unclean 
animals are here specified, wild beasts, cattle, and creepers. They are 
not to be used for food. They are described in Lev. xi. Even the 
carcasses of those animals which are allowed for food defile (Lev. 
xi. 39). And it be hidden from him. This is a hint that all such 
defiling objects are to be carefully avoided ; and if this be done, un- 
clean contact can only happen in some unexpected and unintentional 
way. And guilty. The mention of guilt, which runs through this 
chapter, is no less obvious in the previous one (vs. 3, 13, 22, 27). 
Thus the terms sin and guilt or trespass are common to both chapters, 
and to all the voluntary actions specified in them. This of itself goes 
to prove that sin and trespass are two aspects of one and the same 
offence. 

3. Third case : this is defilement by contact with one who is unclean. 
From the completeness of the previous verse it is obvious that this is 
regarded as a distinct species of offence. The modes of human defile- 
ment are various. A living body affected with any flux or issue, or 
a dead body communicates defilement (Lev. xv. ; Num. xix. 11). 
The putrid matter flowing from a diseased part, or the dead body in 
which putrefaction sets in is a seat of corruption, and in man is not 
only a type, but a fruit, of moral pollution. 



LEVITICUS V. 2-6. 77 

lips to do evil or to do good, according to all that a man utters 
with an oath, and it be hid from him, and he know of it, and 
be guilty in any of these, 5. Then it shall be, when he is 
guilty in any of these, that he shall confess that he hath sinned 
in it, 6. And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto the 
Lord for his sin which he hath done, a female of the flock, a 
lamb or a kid of the goats for a sin-sacrifice ; and the priest 

4. Fourth case : rash swearing. To utter with the lips, to speak 
rashly in the hearing of men. To do evil or to do good, a general 
phrase to denote a certain act of any kind whatever (Num. xxiv. 13). 
This refers to swearing improperly or falsely regarding the act in 
question, whether past or future. And it he hid from him ; having 
forgotten or neglected it. And he know of it, and some person or cir- 
cumstance bring it to his knowledge. The series of cases has now 
been stated. 

5-13. The course to be pursued in these cases. When he is guilty 
in any of these. The epithet guilty is here applied to all the four 
classes of offenders, and hence we find that bearing his iniquity (vs. 1) 
and being guilty are equivalent phrases. He shall confess. The con- 
duct of the offerer in making confession and presenting his offering is 
the outward indication of his state of mind, of his inward penitence, 
trust in God, affection, and obedience. But they make no atonement 
for his sin. This is the effect of the trespass-offering. 6. Bring his 
trespass-offering. 5 This is the natural rendering. It presents a diffi- 
culty only to those who hold that sin and trespass must be different 
offences. The words will not admit of any other rendering. We 
cannot say, " bring his trespass or his guilt." For a sin-sacrifice. If 
we were to insist that sin and trespass denoted distinct offences, there 
would appear a contradiction here. But when we find sin and trespass 
or guilt uniformly ascribed to one and the same act through these two 
chapters, we learn simply from this passage that in these cases the 
trespass-offering and the sin-sacrifice are united in the same victim, 
or that the one offering serves for both. Nothing can more clearly 
show, in fact, that the same offence is in one aspect a sin and in 
another a trespass. Atone for him from his sin; as in iv. 26. In 



78 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING 

shall atone for him from his sin. 7. And if his hand reach 
not to enough for a lamb, then shall he bring as his trespass- 
offering, for what he hath sinned, two doves or two pigeons 
unto the Lord, one for a sin-sacrifice, and one for a burnt- 
sacrifice. 8. And he shall bring them unto the priest, and he 
shall offer that which is for the sin-sacrifice first, and pinch 
off its head from its neck and not divide it. 9. And he shall 
spatter of the blood of the sin-sacrifice upon the wall of the 
altar, and the rest of the blood shall be squeezed out at the 
foot of the altar : it is a sin-sacrifice. 10. And the second he 
shall make a burnt-sacrifice according to the manner ; and 
the priest shall atone for him for his sin which he hath done, 
and it shall be forgiven him. § 

11. And if his hand reach not to two doves or two pigeons, 
then he shall bring as his offering for what he hath sinned the 
tenth of an ephah of flour for a sin-sacrifice : he shall not add 



this case the sacrifice including in itself expressly the sin and the 
trespass-offering makes a complete atonement. 7. His trespass-offer- 
ing. This is consistent with the statement in the previous verse. 
For what he hath sinned. The original might be rendered simply 
" which he hath sinned," and so we might suppose that asham here 
meant simply his trespass. But precisely the same phrase is' found 
after " his offering " in vs. 11, where we must render as we have done 
here. Besides we cannot use the phrase " bring his trespass " here, 
any more than in the sixth verse. Two doves. Here the twofold 
import of the sacrifice is intimated by the two victims ; the one for a 
sin-sacrifice, which properly expiates, the other for a burnt-sacrifice, 
which propitiates, and therein makes satisfaction. 8, 9. Spatter of the 
blood. This makes a difference, as before (iv. 6), between the sin and 
the burnt-sacrifice. 10. According to the manner, the rule already 
prescribed (Lev. i.). 

11-13. A third alternation. For what he hath sinned. See on vs. 7. 
Flour for a sin-sacrifice. On the principle that without shedding of 



LEVITICUS V. 11-13. 79 

oil to it nor put frankincense upon it ; for it is a sin-sacrifice. 

12. And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall 
take of it his neaf-ful, the memorial of it, and burn it on the 
altar upon the fire-offerings of the Lord : it is a sin-sacrifice. 

13. And the priest shall atone for him for his sin which he 
hath done in any of these, and it shall be forgiven him : and 
it shall belong to the priest as the oblation. 

blood there is no remission, this would be entirely unintelligible, did 
we not know that the atonement had been already made and accepted 
for all such inadvertent offenders by the burnt-sacrifice, which repre- 
sented the great and only propitiation for the sinner who through 
it returns to God. This burnt-sacrifice had been offered either by 
the penitent himself or by his parent or people on his behalf. Its 
virtue was all-sufficient, both for the sinful state antecedent to pro- 
pitiation, and the inadvertent sins that might afterwards be committed. 
The sin-sacrifice merely represented a fresh appeal to the one only 
atonement, symbolized no less by this than by the burnt-sacrifice. 
But besides, it is to be remembered that this particular sin-sacrifice 
comes under the head of a trespass-offering (vs. 6), which presupposes 
expiation by blood indeed, but expresses positive satisfaction or pro- 
pitiation by a fire-offering on the brazen altar. The flour suffices for 
this purpose, when the atonement has gone before. Not add oil to it 
nor 'put frankincense upon it. Inasmuch as this is a trespass-offering 
(vs. 6), it is propitiatory in its nature, and may even be expressed by 
flour, part of which is burned as a fire-offering unto the Lord. But 
as it is in another respect a sin-sacrifice, and in this respect expiatory, 
the oil and the frankincense are excluded. The bare flour represents 
life, and therefore deliverance from death, which is the proper effect of 
the expiation. It is the basis of the oblation, which presupposes the 
burnt-sacrifice in which expiation is made. For it is a sin-sacrifice. 
Oil expresses sanctificatlon and frankincense intercession, which tran- 
scend all that is implied in the mere blood of expiation. 12. The 
priest shall take with his own hand, as in the animal sacrifice he 
receives the blood in a sacrificial bowl. Upon the jire-offerings, as in 
iv. 35. 13. In any of these, literally from any of these, as in iv. 26. 



80 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

14. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 15. If a soul 
do wrong and sin in error in the holy things of the Lord, then 
he shall bring as his trespass-offering unto the Lord a perfect 
ram of the flock with thy valuation in silver shekels after the 

It shall belong. The flour, after the memorial has been burned on the 
altar, shall be the priest's, as the oblation (ch. ii.). 

14-19. The trespass-offering for transgressions in the holy things 
of the Lord, or directly against his moral law. This is the first 
distinct communication concerning trespass-offerings. It contains, as 
we see, two different cases. The first regards any wrong-doing in the 
holy things of the Lord. lb. If a soul do wrong, defraud or in any 
way injure. The reference now is specially to the damage which has 
been done to the right or property of another. And sin. Every kind 
of wrong is at the same time a sin. In error. This qualification is 
never to be forgotten. The soul that has repented and been recon- 
ciled to God can sin only in error or inadvertence. A wilful or 
deliberate violation of the command of God marks an impenitent and 
unreconciled sinner. The lawgiver is careful to mark the distinction. 
In the holy things of the Lord. 15 The original has " from the holy 
things," which is a pregnant construction for, " in taking from the holy 
things of the Lord." This refers to the service of the tabernacle, the 
tithes, or any other requirement of the worship of God. A perfect 
ram, is the constant trepass-offering, without respect to rank or means, 
to intimate that the recompense should always be an exact equivalent 
for the damage done. The mode of dealing with the ram of trespass 
is the same as that with the peace-offering (iii. 2-5), as we learn from 
vii. 2-5, where this account is supplemented. With thy valuation. 
This cannot with any propriety be referred to the value of the ram, 
which it is simply impossible to vary in proportion to the damage 
done. It must therefore refer to a distinct accompanying sum of 
money, at which Moses or the officiating priest or the high-priest is to 
estimate the loss. In silver shekels, that is, in current coin ; silver, the 
customary medium of exchange, having acquired the meaning of coin 
or money. After the shekel of the sanctuary. As this matter re- 
garded the sanctuary it is natural that the payment should be made in 



LEVITICUS V. 15-17. 81 

shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering. 16. And he 
shall make amends for the sin that he hath done in the holy 
thing, and shall add thereto the fifth of it, and give it unto 
the priest ; and the priest shall atone for him with the ram 
of trespass, and it shall be forgiven him. ^[ 

17. And if a soul sin and do aught against any of the com- 
mandments of the Lord, as to what should not be done, and 

the currency of the sanctuary. Some suppose that the beka 1S is the 
common shekel, which would in that case be only half the sacred 
shekel (1 Kings x. 17 ; 2 Chron. ix. 16). The sacred shekel 15 would 
at all events be of full weight, and in value about 2s. 3d. of Eng- 
lish money, or half an American dollar. For a trespass-offering . 
Hence we perceive that an equivalent compensation for the right that 
had been infringed is the fundamental meaning of the trespass-offering. 

16. Make amends, make good, or replace that which had been lost or 
taken away or withheld. The idea of restitution in positive value or 
right runs through the whole account of the asham or trespass-offering. 
The fifth of it. This serves to cover all losses or costs contingent on 
the exchange or replacement. The same addition was to be made 
when a firstling or any part of the tithe in kind was exchanged for a 
money value (Lev. xxvii.). The tenth is the customary offering in 
acknowledgment of the supremacy and benignity of the Most High. 
In the case of compensation or exchange for that which belongs to 
him, two tenths or one fifth is the usual addition. 

17-19. The trespass-offering in the case of a direct breach of the 
moral law. This is the second branch of the present communication. 

17. If a soul sin. On comparison it is manifest that this is precisely 
the case for which the sin-sacrifice is provided in the preceding chap- 
ter, namely, doing anything against any of the commandments of the 
Lord, as to what should not be done. There it was treated as a sin 
or wrong done, deserving punishment ; here it is regarded as a tres- 
pass or right left undone, demanding amends. The penalty and the 
recompense make up the propitiation. And hence we often find the 
sin -sacrifice and the trespass-offering accompanying each other, and 
presented for the same transgression. The trespass-offering, there- 

u 



82 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

know it not, and be guilty and bear his iniquity ; 18. Then 
he shall bring a perfect ram of the flock, with thy valuation 
for a trespass-offering unto the priest ; and the priest shall 
atone for him for his error which he committed and knew it 
not, and it shall be forgiven him. 19. It is a trespass-offering: 
he hath indeed trespassed against the Lord. ^f 

20. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 21. If a soul 
6in and do wrong against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor 
in a trust or in giving of the hand or in theft, or oppress his 

fore, now prescribed is simply that which is to be offered along with 
the sin-sacrifice of the previous chapter. 18. With thy valuation. 
This refers to such material compensation as may be admissible in cer- 
tain breaches of the moral law. It would be vain for the transgressor 
to make a trespass-offering if he were not prepared to make all the 
reparation in his power for the right infringed. For his error. The 
offences for which these sacrifices are offered are invariably acts of 
inadvertence, and not of the intentional wilfulness that marks an 
unregenerate heart. 19. He hath indeed trespassed against the Lord. 
The valuation and material compensation following upon it is a matter 
between man and man ; in this instance referring to the priests of the 
house of God who have been wronged. The transgressor can make 
no proper compensation to his Creator for the right he has infringed. 
Hence we need the trespass-offering, which, like the ram caught in 
the thicket, represents the righteousness of the substitute for the 
transgressor, by which the law that has been violated is truly magni- 
fied and honored. This alone ultimately propitiates and earns eternal 
life for the penitent who returns, laying his hand on the trespass- 
offering. 

20-26. The trespass-offering for sins against the Lord that are 
direct offences against a neighbor. This second communication on 
the trespass-offering refers to direct breaches of the second table of 
the law. It bears, therefore, the same relation to the former com- 
munication which the first paragraph of this chapter bears to the 
previous chapter. 21. If a soul sin and do wrong- 1 against the Lord. 
The breach of equity between man and man is an offence against God. 



LEVITICUS V. 21-26. 83 

neighbor, 22. Or find that which was lost and deny it and 
swear to a lie, in aught of all that a man doeth to sin therein, 
23. And it be that he sins and is guilty, then he shall requite 
the thing which he stole, or the oppression that he wrought, 
or the trust that was delivered to him, or the lost thing that 
he found, 24. Or all that about which he had sworn to a 
lie ; and he shall make it good in the principal of it, and add 
to it a fifth of it ; to him to whom it belongeth shall he give 
it in the day of his trespass. 25. And he shall bring his tres- 
pass-offering unto the Lord, a perfect ram of the flock, with 
thy valuation for a trespass-offering unto the priest : 26. And 

To do wrong here means to act treacherously or deceitfully, sin always 
involving a lie in some form. This corresponds with the forms of sin 
afterwards enumerated. Fraud in a trust or compact, or in property, 
and oppression are inclusive of most wrong done to a neighbor. 
22. Speaking or swearing falsely regarding a thing found. All these 
result from strong and sudden temptation by which a man entering 
on the life of faith in God and allegiance to him may be overcome in 
a moment of heedlessness. 23. He shall requite, or make good by an 
equivalent. 24. Full compensation, that is, an equivalent with a fifth 
added to it, is to be made for the wrongs done to his neighbor, as an 
essential part in the re-establishment of a good understanding with 
his Heavenly Father. To him to whom it belongeth. A thorough and 
genuine integrity is the only satisfactory criterion of a new heart at 
peace with God. In the day of his trespass, on the occasion of his 
having failed to render to his neighbor any part of his right. If the 
day is to be taken more strictly, it must refer to the time of his tres- 
pass having become known. 25, 26. The process here is quite the 
same as in the former case (vs. 18). 

In these five chapters we have the ritual of the various sacrifices 
which are needful to meet the exigencies of a godly life on the earth, 
in the period antecedent to the making of the great propitiation 
which really takes away sin. The burnt-sacrifice represents the full 
propitiation for sin, including both expiation and satisfaction proper, 



84 THE TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

the priest shall atone for him before the Lord, and it shall 
be forgiven him, for aught of all that he doeth to trespass 
therein. 26 IT IF -IT 

by which the sinner, coming in faith and penitence, is pardoned and 
accepted once for all. This has to be offered again and again, as it is 
merely the shadow of the substance, to call to remembrance the one 
great propitiatory sacrifice which takes away sin and brings in ever- 
lasting righteousness. Next we have the oblation, which serves to 
accompany and complete the proper sacrifice, or to afford expression 
on suitable occasions for that gratitude and devotion which character- 
ize the obedience of the soul that has once been ransomed by the blood 
of atonement. This offering is accepted either on account of the 
proper sacrifice which has preceded, or of the perfect righteousness 
of the all-prevalent Intercessor. The sacrifice of peace is the medium 
of fellowship with the God of mercy and truth for his saints who have 
been reconciled by the sacrifice of propitiation. As the old man still 
lingers in the flesh, betraying the penitent soul in unguarded moments 
into sins that imply, not intentional rebellion, but only moral imper- 
fection, the sin-sacrifice and trespass-offerings afford special means of 
expiating occasional errors, and making amends for the rights which 
have been infringed, being, in fact, the symbols of the special applica- 
tion of the one great atoning sacrifice to the relief of the conscience, 
when distressed with these dregs of a fallen nature. The lessons 
which these singular arrangements teach will be obvious to the atten- 
tive reader. 

NOTES. 

1. Iniquity, ■p'Wj deviation from rectitude; r. nw, bend, twist. 
Bear iniquity, "pis' xtitt . 

6. Bring his trespass-offering, inti«"nM K^fi . 

15. From the holy things of, iig'ijBa. Beka, 9J3SI, a dividend, a 
half; r. cleave. Shekel, fcgtfi, a weight of about 220 grains.' 

21. Bo wrong, ten , act covertly or treacherously. 



LEVITICUS VI. 1, 2. 85 



VI. LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

YI. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Com- 
mand Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the 
burnt-sacrifice : that is the burnt-sacrifice upon the hearth on 
the altar all the night until the morning ; and the fire of the 

The two remaining chapters on the offerings are occupied with 
certain regulations to be observed by the priests in the ministrations 
of the altar. They chiefly refer to the use of the flesh that is not 
to be burned on the altar, and other details not before settled. These 
are reserved until now, that the form and character of each offering 
might stand out clearly to the view, and not be confused by details, 
which, however essential in themselves, do not enter into their specific 
nature as offerings. There are in all five distinct communications in 
these two chapters, of which two and a part of the third are contained 
in this chapter. It treats of the law or rule of the burnt-sacrifice 
1-6, of the oblation 7-16, and of the sin-sacrifice 17-23. 

1-6. The law of the burnt-sacrifice. 1. The Lord spake. This 
communication is made to Moses, and concerns the priests. It includes 
the law of the burnt-sacrifice and that of the oblation made by any of 
the people. 2. Command. Moses is the lawgiver. Aaron and his 
sons. The following regulations apply to the proceedings of the 
priests in the matter of these offerings. The law. 2 properly, doctrine 
or instruction. Here it refers to the mode of administration, and to 
the duties and rights of the priests. The burnt-sacrifice. This sacri- 
fice gave name to the altar on which it was offered. The morning 
and evening sacrifices come under this description. And besides 
these, others were continually offered by individuals. It was, more- 
over, the sum and substance of all other sacrifices. Hence the pro- 
priety of calling the altar of sacrifice by this name. That is. The 
attention is here drawn to the evening burnt-sacrifice, as the one at 
present in question. Upon the hearth, 2 the grating in the middle of 
the altar where the fire was placed. See on Ex. xxvii. 4. All the 
night. This, then, is the evening sacrifice, which is to burn all the 
night until the morning. The account of the process begins with the 



86 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

altar shall burn on it. 3. And the priest shall put on his 
linen coat, and linen breeches shall he put on his flesh ; and 
he shall take up the ashes into which the fire consumeth the 
burnt-sacrifice on the altar, and put them beside the altar. 

4. And he shall strip off his clothes and put on other clothes : 
and carry the ashes forth without the camp unto a clean place. 

5. And the fire upon the altar shall burn on it, it shall not go 

evening, as the sunset was the beginning of the Hebrew day. The 
fire would be renewed for the evening sacrifice every day. Shall burn 
on it? The fire thus prepared for the perpetual burnt-sacrifice is to 
burn all night on it, that is, on the altar. 3. And the priest. In the 
morning the priest is to trim the altar fire that has been burning all 
the night. Shall put on. For this purpose he is to put on linen 
garments. The breeches are mentioned in particular because he is 
now to mount the altar. This linen array is the emblem of purity 
and humility, in which he is for the present purpose to approach the 
altar. Take up the ashes. This manual labor belongs to the priest 
because it is connected with the altar, and these are the ashes of the 
burnt-sacrifice. Beside the altar. On the east end or rear of it (i. 16). 
The object of laying the ashes in the rear of the altar is that the 
priest may renew the fire and offer the morning sacrifice before he 
takes off his official dress to carry them out of the the camp. Strip 
off. The official garments befit the altar and the court, but not the 
Outer world. Without the camp. The residue from the altar is in 
one sense accursed, as that which bears the iniquity of the sinner, and 
therefore must have no place in the camp of the holy nation. Unto a 
clean place. In another sense, and in itself, it is holy and without 
blemish, and has been consecrated unto the Lord, and therefore as a 
holy thing must not be cast down in a common or unclean place. 5. 
Burn on it, 2 that is on the altar, to which the pronoun refers. Not go 
out. The fire on the altar is to be a perpetual expression of accept- 
ance through an atonement. To keep up this fire the priest shall put 
on fresh wood, and lay on it the morning sacrifice before he leaves the 
holy place with the ashes ; and all day long, as occasion requires, he 
shall burn on it the memorials of the oblation, and the fat of the 



LEVITICUS VI. 6-10. 87 

out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; 
and he shall lay on it the burnt-sacrifice, and burn on it the 
fat of the peace-offerings. 6. Fire shall burn always on the 
altar, it shall not go out. § 

7. And this is the law of the oblation : let Aaron's sons offer 
it before the Lord upon the altar. 8. And he shall lift of it in 
his neaf of the flour of the oblation and of its oil and all the 
frankincense which is on the oblation, and burn on the altar 
for a sweet smell the memorial of it unto the Lord. 9. And 
the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat : sweet, 
shall it be eaten, in the holy place, in the court of the tent of 
meeting they shall eat it. 10. It shall not be baken with 
leaven ; I have given it as their portion of my fire-offerings ; it 
is most holy, as the sin-sacrifice and as the trespass-offering. 

peace-offerings, and other sacrifices. 6. Burn always, as a symbol of 
the perpetual acceptance of the true propitiation once to be made, and 
of the perpetual worship of God and fellowship of his people with him. 
The fire that came down from heaven on the altar was the token of 
the divine acceptance of the sacrifice offered for his people. It is 
abundantly manifest from all this that the burnt-sacrifice was the sum 
and substance of all sacrifice, and the symbol of propitiation. 

7-11. The law of the oblation of the people. 7. Aaron's sons, that 
is, one of them, thou of his sons, as the verb is in the imperative. 
Upon the altar, literally, on the face of the altar. 8. This is a re- 
capitulation of ii. 9 for the sake of connection. 9. The remainder 
thereof. Here we have the detail of the disposal of the remainder 
which in ii. 10 is omitted, not being to the purpose then in hand» 
Sweet, unleavened. In the holy place, because it is most holy (ii, 10). 
The holy place includes the court of the tabernacle, where a suitable 
place would be provided for the purpose. 10. Not be baken with 
leaven (ii. 11), neither by the worshipper nor by the priest. I have 
given it. The oblation belongs wholly to the Lord. He disposes of 
it as it pleases him. The memorial is burned on his altar ; the re- 
mainder eaten by his priests. My jire-offerings. The whole is a 



88 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

11. Every male of the sons of Aaron shall eat of it : it is a 
statute forever for your generations of the fire-offerings of the 
Lord : all that toucheth them shall be holy. ^f 

12. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 13. This is 
the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to 
the Lord in the day when he is anointed, the tenth of an 
ephah of flour for a perpetual oblation, half of it in the morn- 
ing and half of it in the evening. 14. On a pan shall it be 



fire-offering ; hence, after the memorial is burnt, to be eaten by the 
priests has the same import as to be consumed by fire on the altar. 
It denotes propitiation. Most holy, because it is wholly his, as the 
sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering are wholly his. 11. Every male ; 
because he is a priest, or will be when he is full-grown. A statute 
forever, continuing until the substance comes of which it is the 
shadow. All that toucheth them shall be holy. This is capable of two 
meanings. Every one that toucheth them must be ceremonially or 
essentially holy ; or everything that toucheth them thereby acquires 
the quality of holiness. The latter seems to be the more natural 
meaning. See on Ex. xxix. 37. 

12-16. The daily oblation of the high-priest. This paragraph 
forms a distinct communication of itself, which Moses puts here in its 
right place. In the general ordinances concerning the offering in the 
first five chapters it would have been out of place because of its 
speciality. In the special rules now given it has its appropriate place. 
On account of its peculiar importance it forms the subject of a separate 
communication. It is manifest that this communication must have 
been made before the consecration of Aaron and his sons, as it forms 
part of their immediate functions. 13. The offering of Aaron and his 
sons. From this and the following context we learn that this is an 
offering from the priestly order, and pre-eminently from the high- 
priest as their head. In the day when he is anointed. This refers to 
the high-priest, who received a special anointing on the day of his 
consecration. Having been consecrated he was empowered to officiate 
as a priest. From that day he presents his oblation along with the 



LEVITICUS VI. 14-17. 89 

made with oil, toasted thou shalt bring it ; an oblation of fried 
crumbs thou shalt offer it for a sweet smell unto the Lord. 
15. And the priest anointed in his stead of his sons shall make 
it : it is a statute forever unto the Lord ; it shall be wholly 
burnt. 16. And every oblation of a priest shall be a whole 
offering; it shall not be eaten. ^[ 

17. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 18. Speak 

burnt-sacrifice of the people. A perpetual oblation, to be offered 
morning and evening like the daily sacrifice. 14. On a pan. The flour 
is to be kneaded without leaven and baked on a pan. With oil, like 
the other oblations. Toasted.™ This is rendered by some mixed, by 
others toasted or hardened by fire. Of fried H crumbs. The word 
rendered " fried " occurs only here. But it denotes exposure to the fire 
in a pan according to the context. 15. Anointed in his stead. His 
successor in the office of high-priest. This implies that the high-priest 
made this offering for the priestly family, including himself. Shall 
make it. Not only offer, but prepare it. Wholly burnt. The whole, 
not a memorial of it, is to be placed on the altar, because the offerer 
partakes not of his oblation, and in this case the offerer is the priest 
himself. 16. A whole offering. This term is applied to any offering 
that is wholly consumed on the altar by fire, and hence to the burnt- 
sacrifice (1 Sam. vii. 9). The rule of the preceding verses is here 
generalized, and applied to all priestly oblations. Thus, along with 
the whole sacrifice of the people, morning and evening, was presented 
the whole oblation of the high-priest. As the former represented the 
one propitiation which was of perpetual avail for the chosen people, 
so the latter symbolized the unblemished integrity of him who was to 
mediate between God and man. The whole oblation was conse- 
quently the meet accompaniment of the whole sacrifice of every 
evening and morning. 

17-23. The law of the sin-sacrifice. Here begins a new communi- 
cation, which includes the laws of the sin-sacrifice, the trespass-offering 
and the peace-offering. A new arrangement of the offerings here 
makes its appearance. The burnt-sacrifice and oblation take the first 
place, as before, and the other three are formed into one group. Here 
12 



90 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin- 
sacrifice : In the place where the burnt-sacrifice is slain shall 
the sin-sacrifice be slain before the Lord ; it is most holy. 19. 
The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it : in the holy place 

the principle of division is the constant and the occasional. The 
burnt-sacrifice of the nation is to be presented every morning and 
evening. And from Num. xv. and xxviii. we learn that it was in- 
variably accompanied with a meat-offering and drink-offering. Hence 
these two agree in being constant. And it is obvious that the peace- 
offering being voluntary, and the sin-sacrifice and trespass-offering 
referring to particular offences, are by their very nature occasional. 
The constant go before, the occasional follow after. Moreover, the 
sin-sacrifice and trespass-offering here precede the peace-offering. 
This rests on another principle of arrangement adapted to the present 
object. The burnt-sacrifice, being wholly burnt on the altar, is placed 
first; the oblation, the sin-sacrifice, and the trespass-offering, being 
usually burnt in part on the altar, and eaten in part by the priests, 
come next ; and the peace-offering being one part burnt on the altar, 
one part eaten by the priests, and the main part eaten by the wor- 
shippers, stands last of all. 18. Speak unto Aaron. The priests have 
the administration of these laws. The place of slaughter is first deter- 
mined. It is where the burnt-sacrifice is slain, at the north side of the 
altar (i. 11). It is most holy. The sacrifice for sin is the substitute 
for the sinner. It is holy because it must in itself be unblemished, 
and it is doubly holy because it is unreservedly devoted to the Lord. 
19. That offers it for sin, literally, that makes it sin, treats it as that 
which bears iniquity, not its own, but that of another. We have 
already seen that the victim must be a moral being, a free and inde- 
pendent agent, and that the priest and the victim must be one and the 
same. But in type this requires a manifold representation. Shall 
eat it. The priest is mediator between the sinner and his Maker. 
Hence he represents alternately the former and the latter. To eat 
the sacrifice is to accept it. Hence the priest in doing so represents 
God; and for this reason he alone is to eat of it. In the holy place, 
the dwelling-place of God, where he welcomes the returning offender. 



LEVITICUS VI. 20-23. 91 

shall it be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. 20. All 
that toucheth its flesh shall be holy; and when any of its 
blood is spattered on a garment, thou shalt wash that on 
which it is spattered in the holy place. 21. And the earthen 
vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken ; and if it be sodden 
in a brazen vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 
22. Every male among the priests shall eat of it ; it is most 
holy. 23. And no sin-sacrifice, whereof any of the blood is 

20. All that toucheth its flesh. Everything that innocently touches 
the flesh, and inanimate objects can only so touch it, shall be holy, 
consecrated to the Lord. This indicates the expiatory virtue of the 
sacrifice to him who with an intelligent purpose lays his hand on it. 
On a garment. It is to be remembered that the victim has a twofold 
character : in itself holy, and in its act most holy ; but in the stead of 
the guilty accursed, suffering the whole penalty of disobedience. The 
material touch represents the moral touch, the touch of regretful faith 
in the mediator. The garment accidentally touched with the blood 
of expiation is tainted with the uncleanness of the sin which it bears, 
and cannot be put to a common use unless the contact be broken or 
undone. Hence the garment spattered with the blood must be washed 
by the priest or his minister in the holy place. 21. The earthen vessel, 
in which the flesh is sodden is by its porous nature so impregnated 
with its essence that the contact cannot be broken. And hence it 
must never be used again. It is broken, because it partakes of the 
curse of sin on the one hand, and in order that it may not be applied 
to a common use on the other. The brass or copper vessel is to be 
scoured and rinsed, as in this way the contact is effectually undone. 
22. Every male; who even in childhood is prospectively a priest. 
Among the priests, in the priestly family. 23. No sin-sacrifice, where- 
of any of the blood has been brought into the sanctuary to make 
atonement, shall be eaten. This rests on the principle that the priest's 
eating of the flesh and the burning of the fat on the altar are alike 
expressive of propitiation. The latter takes place in every sin-sacri- 
fice, and sufficiently expresses propitiation. The former method cannot 
be employed when the high-priest is the offerer, because the offerer 



92 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

brought unto the tent of meeting to atone in the holy place, 
shall be eaten : it shall be burned in the fire. 

does not partake of his own sin-sacrifice, and the other priests are in 
this case also excluded from partaking on the same ground on which 
no oblation of a priest is to be eaten (vs. 16). The same rule may be 
extended to the whole congregation, which is a kingdom of priests 
(Ex. xix. 6), and therefore the high-priest, its representative, does not 
partake of its sin-sacrifice. These are the two cases in which the 
blood is brought into the sanctuary, and the flesh is burnt without the 
camp. It shall be burned, consumed by fire in the clean place, without 
the camp, where the ashes of the altar are laid. This indicates the 
second death or perpetual destruction, which is the natural destiny of 
the sinful. 

NOTES. 

2. Law, iTTift, doctrine, practical principle; r. in hiph. teach. 
Hearth, ifnpte , place of burning. Found only here ; r. Igj , burn. 
On it, is . The pronoun both here and in vs. 5 is masculine, and 
therefore cannot refer to the fibs> (Keil) or the iTnpia, which are 
feminine. The altar, which is masculine, affords the natural antecedent. 

14. Toasted, flMpo, Sept. 7rc(j>vpafxivrjv, mixed or kneaded. It 
occurs only here, in Lev. vii. 12, and 1 Chron. xxiii. 29. Fried, ilp&El, 
from t)*ipi, burn, (F.) or has, bake (Ges.). The construction is very 
peculiar, giving as the literal rendering, "fried of an oblation of 
crumbs," the first word agreeing with the last in number. 

16. Whole offering, Vfca (Ps. li. 21). 

Vn. LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS — Continued. 

In this chapter we have the remainder of the third communication 
and the fourth and fifth on what may be called the by-laws of the 
offerings. In the continuation of the third communication are in- 
cluded the law of the trespass-offering (1-10), and that of the peace- 
offering (11-21). The fourth refers to the prohibition of fat and blood, 
(22-27) ; and the fifth to the rights of the priests in regard to the peace- 
offerings (28-36). This is followed by the recapitulation (37, 38). 



LEVITICUS VII. 1-7. 93 

VII. 1. And this is the law of the trespass-offering : it is 
most holy. 2. In the place where they slay the burnt-sacrifice 
shall they slay the trespass-offering : and the blood thereof 
shall he sprinkle on the altar around. 3. And he shall offer 
of it all its fat ; the tail and the fat that covereth the inwards. 
4. And the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, which 
is by the flanks ; and the caul upon the liver, with the kidneys 
shall he take it away. 5. And the priest shall burn them on 
the altar, a fire-offering unto the Lord : it is a trespass-offering. 
6. Every male among the priests shall eat of it : in the holy 
place shall it be eaten; it is most holy. 7. As the sin-sacrifice, 
so is the trespass-offering ; they have one law : the priest that 

1-10. The law of the trespass-offering. It is most holy. The vic- 
tim being righteous is holy. Being a voluntary substitute for another 
it is most holy. 2. The place of slaughter, on the north side of the altar, 
as usual (i. 11). Sprinkle on the altar around, as in the whole sacrifice 
(i. 5). The blood of the trespass-offering makes expiation, as that 
of the burnt-sacrifice. The particulars in this and the three following 
verses are prescribed, in accordance with iii. 2-5, for the double purpose 
of completing the former account and connecting the present. 3-5. 
All its fat, as in the sacrifice of peace ; indicating the satisfaction which 
completes propitiation. 6. The flesh is to be eaten by the priests, 
actual or prospective. This is a token of complete acceptance, as in 
the sin-sacrifice (vi. 19). 7-10. The dues of the priest in all the 
preceding offerings. The law of the trespass-offering is completed in 
the previous verse. Before proceeding to the peace-offering, the sac- 
rifice in which the offerer partakes of the feast, the clues of the 
priests in the others are determined in a summary way. 7. So is the 
trespass-offering. This is the connecting link with the preceding 
passage. They have one law, regarding the disposal of the flesh. 
That atoneth with it. This points to the difference between the sin 
and the trespass-offering. With the former the priest expiates for sin 
(vi. 18) ; with the latter he atones for trespass, that is, for righteous- 
ness unfulfilled. The former represents the suffering of the penalty 



94 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

atoneth with it shall have it. 8. And the priest that offereth 
any man's burnt-sacrifice, the skin of the burnt sacrifice which 
he hath offered he, the priest, shall have. 9. And every obla- 
tion that is baken in the oven and all that is made in the pot 
and on the pan, the priest that offereth it he shall have it. 
10. And every oblation, mingled with oil or dry, shall all the 
sons of Aaron have, the one as the other. ^f 

11. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace, which he 

incurred, the latter the performance of the duty neglected. 8. The 
shin of the burnt-sacrifice. From the perquisite of the priest in the 
trespass-offering and the sin-sacrifice the writer is led to mention the 
skin of the burnt-sacrifice as the only thing in it belonging to the 
priest. It is truly the whole-sacrifice, all the flesh being burned on 
the altar. According to Rabbi Levi the skins of the offerings for sin 
and trespass went also to the priest, while that of the peace-offering 
belonged to the offerer (see Mishnah, zeb. xii. 3). 9. All these obla- 
tions shall belong to the priest who officiates in receiving them and 
presenting the memorial of them on the altar. They were cooked, 
and therefore to be eaten immediately. The priest, whose perquisite 
they were, was no doubt at liberty to share his superfluity, if any, 
with other priests. 10. All other oblations of the people, after the 
memorial was placed on the altar, belonged to the priests in common 
(see chap. 2). Mingled with oil or dry. The former have already 
been mostly enumerated in chap. ii. The dry included the flour on 
which oil was merely poured (ii. 1), the sin-sacrifice of flour (v. 13), 
the sheaf of the 'first-fruits (xxiii. 10), the jealousy oblation (Num. 
v. 18), and the like. The one as the other. These oblations were not 
cooked, and were perhaps more abundant than the others. They form 
therefore a common store. 

11-18. The law of the peace-offering. Of this there are three kinds, 
thanksgiving, the vow, and the free gift. 11. Which he shall offer. The 
phrase is indefinite, which one shall offer, or which may be offered. 
In the ordinance for this sacrifice the disposal of the blood and of the 
fat was very precisely and fully laid down in chap, iii., with a closing 
warning against the eating of fat or blood. But no intimation was 



LEVITICUS VII. 11-14. 95 

shall offer to the Lord. 12. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, 
then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving sweet 
cakes mingled with oil, and sweet wafers anointed with oil, and 
cakes of toasted flour mingled with oil. 13. With cakes of 
leavened bread he shall make his offering, with his thank-sacri- 
fice of peace. 14. And he shall offer of it one out of the whole 
offering, a heaving unto the Lord : the priest that sprinkleth 
the blood of the peace-offering shall have it. 15. And the 

given of the use that was to be made of the flesh. This was in keeping 
with the end then in view, which was to mark that which effects atone- 
ment, and procured acceptance and all the blessings it involves. We 
are now to be made acquainted with a secondary or subsidiary part 
of the peace-offering of the deepest interest to the pious offerer. This 
is the sacrificial feast which was made of the flesh and accompanying 
oblation and libation (Num. xv.). This was the earnest and the fore- 
shadow of all the blessings of peace with God through the atonement 
of the Mediator. 12. The thank-offering. Here we are informed 
that the sacrifice of peace is to be accompanied with sweet, that is 
unleavened, cakes, mingled with oil, sweet wafers spread with oil, and 
another kind of cakes toasted in a particular manner. 13. With cakes 
of leavened bread. These are not the proper offering, but an accom- 
paniment of it. The offering is given in the previous verse. This 
was to be a communion feast, and an ample supply of bread was neces- 
sary, that it might be eaten with the flesh. But none of the leavened 
bread is to be placed on the altar (ii. 11). With his thank-sacrifice 
of peace. The sacrifice of peace now in question is the thanksgiving, 
with which is connected the oblation of cakes, laid on or presented 
with cakes of leavened bread for the accompanying feast. 14. One 
out of the whole offering. This one is an acknowledgment that the 
whole belongs to the Lord. It is not, however, a memorial to be 
burnt upon the altar, but a heaving or heave-offering to the Lord. 
The heaving is that which is heaved up in token of its being dedi- 
cated to the Lord, without being laid on the altar to be burned as a 
sweet smell (Num. v. 9). Instead of this, it shall be given to the 
priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace-offering on the altar. 15. 



96 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

flesh of his thank-sacrifice of peace shall be eaten in the day 
of his offering : he shall not leave any of it till the morning. 
16. And if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow or a free gift, 
it shall be eaten in the day that he offereth his sacrifice : and 
on the morrow that which is left of it shall be eaten. 17. And 
that which is left of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day 
shall be burnt with fire. 18. And if any of the flesh of his 
sacrifice of peace be at all eaten on the third day, it shall not be 
accepted, it shall not be counted to him that offereth it; it 
shall be a foul thing ; and the soul that eateth of it shall bear 

In the day of his offering. The flesh of the thank-offering is to be 
eaten by the offerer on the day on which it is presented. None of it 
is to be left till the next day. This is the solemn and joyful act 
that imparts its peculiar character to the peace-offering. It is sym- 
bolic of the benefits and privileges of those who are reconciled to 
God,- admitted to his home, and treated as his children and heirs. It 
stands at the end of all faith, the crowning solemnity and sole festival 
of the people of God, as the day of atonement stands at the beginning 
of all repentance, the solitary day of sorrow and self-humiliation 
throughout the year. 

16. The vow or free gift. This may be eaten on the day of offer- 
ing or the next day. The offering of gratitude is more worthy than 
that of the vow or the free gift. It is therefore to be exhausted by 
generosity to the poor on the day of offering (Corn, a Lap.). 17. The 
remainder on the third day is to be burned with fire in the clean place 
where the ashes of the altar are deposited, or in some place equally 
suitable. 18. If eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It 
will then be beginning to putrefy, and will be unfit for food, much less 
for being accepted as the representative of the unblemished victim. 
It shall not be counted to the offerer as a sacrifice of peace. To count 
or impute is to reckon to his account, so that he has the credit of it, 
and the full benefit accruing therefrom. This is a word of incalculable 
interest to him who is guilty and doomed to die. It indicates the 
possibility and the mode of deliverance from this doom, on two con- 



LEVITICUS VII. 13-20. 97 

his iniquity. 19. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean 
thing shall not be eaten ; it shall be burnt with fire : but the 
flesh in itself every one that is clean shall eat. 20. And the 
soul that eateth flesh of the sacrifice of peace that betongeth to 
the Lord, while his uncleanness is on him, that soul shall even 

ditions external to the sinner : first, that one be found willing and 
able to allow the sin to be counted to him, and so to do and to bear 
for the sinner all that justice demands ; and second, that the Judge of 
all the earth be pleased to count the sin to the substitute, and his 
obedience and suffering to the guilty, and so to pardon and accept the 
sinner. One other condition in the sinner himself is necessary, in 
order that this merciful imputation may avail him. He must with 
becoming feelings come before his Maker, and lay his hand upon the 
substitute. It shall be a foul thing, 18 a fetid or corrupt thing, abhor- 
rent to the pure taste or sense. Bear his iniquity. He shall incur 
blame by doing that which is forbidden ; and, as his sacrifice ceases 
to have any propitiating power, all his guilt remains as it was before 
it was offered. 

19-21. Uncleanness bars from communion. The nullifying effect 
of eating the flesh of the peace-offering on the third day naturally 
leads to the distinction of the clean and the unclean, and to the conse- 
quent determination that the former are admissible to the sacrificial 
feast, the latter not. The question is a practical one likely to arise, 
and needing an answer. This is the proper time to give it. 19. The 
flesh that toucheth any unclean thing. As contact with the flesh of 
the sin-sacrifice renders holy, so contact with anything unclean defiles 
the flesh of the peace-offering, and renders it ceremonially unfit for 
food. It is to be consumed by fire. Otherwise the flesh in itself, 
apart from such contact, may be partaken of by all that are clean. 
This precept applies to all flesh killed for food, as it was, in some 
respect, dedicated to the Lord (Lev. xvii. ; Deut. xii. 6, 21-25). 20. 
The soul that eateth flesh. Ceremonial uncleanness unfits for sacrificial 
communion. The lesson here taught is of essential importance. We 
have seen above that the doctrine of imputation, in all its length and 
breadth, is the external condition of deliverance for a soul that has 
13 



98 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

be cut off from his people. 21. And the soul that toucheth 
anything unclean, the uncleanness of man or an unclean beast 
or any unclean loathsome thing, and eateth of the flesh of the 
sacrifice of peace which belongeth to the Lord, that soul shall 
even be cut off from his people. 

22. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23. Speak 

sinned against God. The internal condition requisite to salvation is 
not left in the background. Penitent faith, acknowledging, feeling, 
and accepting the mercy of God in the atonement, is the fruit of the 
new birth. This moral cleanness is represented by the ceremonial 
cleanness. He that draws nigh to God must be holy. His very 
drawing nigh is the consequence of a change of heart. For the peni- 
tent sinner the propitiation affords the legal qualification for accept- 
ance ; the penitence itself is the moral qualification for accepting the 
atonement and holding communion with God. That belongeth to the 
Lord, and hence is set apart to a holy use. Cut off from his people. 
This is to be excluded from the covenant of grace, and treated as a 
heathen or alien (Gen. xvii. 14). He that wittingly violates the 
sanctity of the law tramples under foot the blood of the covenant, and 
thereby makes himself an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and 
a stranger from the covenants of promise. This exclusion was some- 
times attended with the sentence of death, as in Ex. xxxi. 14. But 
this was owing to the violation of some civil law, and not the necessary 
consequence of excommunication. 21. Ceremonial defilement arises 
from touching anything unclean (v. 2, 3). Any unclean loathsome 
thing, 21 either fish, fowl, or smaller animal. A loathsome thing is 
more comprehensive than a crawler, a word which some read here. 
The necessity of cleanness, and therefore of the holiness which it 
symbolizes, is enforced by the reiteration of the sentence of excom- 
munication. 

22-27. A communication is here made emphatically forbidding 
the eating of fat or blood. As the peace-offering is a sacrificial feast, 
in which alone the offerer and his company partake of the flesh of 
the victims, this is the appropriate place for reiterating this precept, 
and inserting a special communication on the subject. 23. No fat of 



LEVITICUS VII. 23-27. 99 

unto the sons of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no fat of ox or 
sheep or goat. 24. And the fat of the dead and the fat of the 
torn may be put to any use ; but ye shall in no wise eat of it. 
25. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast of which he 
may present a fire-offering unto the Lord, the soul that eateth 
shall be cut off from his people. 26. And ye shall eat no 
blood in all your dwellings of fowl or of cattle. 27. Every 
soul that eateth any blood, even that soul shall be cut off from 
his people. ^f 

ox, or sheep, or goat. This refers to the fat pieces constantly enu- 
merated (iii. 3, 4, 9, 10, 14, 15) and not to any fat intermixed with 
the flesh in other parts of the body. 24. The dead, that which has 
died of itself. The torn, is that which has been killed by a wild 
beast. All oxen, sheep, or goats slain, while the people were in the 
wilderness, were to be brought to the door of the tent of meeting, 
that the blood might be sprinkled on the altar and the fat burned for 
a sweet smell unto the Lord (Lev. xvii. 3-6). Among the changes 
required for a settled state in their own land, permission is given to 
slay cattle for consumption in their gates, with the sole condition that 
the blood be spilled on the ground (Deut. xii. 20-25). The fat is not 
mentioned in the passage quoted. 25. Hence it appears that the 
prohibition refers to the fat of those kinds of animals that may be 
used for sacrifice, and not to that of other kinds of clean animals that 
may be eaten, but not sacrificed. The penalty of violating this pro- 
hibition is excommunication. "We have already seen that the fat 
burned on the altar represents the perfect obedience of the Mediator, 
which is the essential element of propitiation for sin. The fat being 
exclusively devoted to this sacred use is not to be applied to any pro- 
fane or common use. 26, 27. The prohibition of blood is here 
added. In all your dwellings. These words extend the precept to the 
residence of the people in the land of promise. In this respect the law 
concerning blood is more comprehensive than that concerning fat. Fowl 
and cattle. The fat of fowl has not been previously noticed ; but the 
blood is made as important as that of cattle. The penalty of excom- 
munication is applied also to the neglect of this precept. This gives 



100 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

28. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 29. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel, saying, He that offereth his sacrifice 
of peace unto the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord 
of his sacrifice of peace. 30. His hands shall bring the fire- 
offerings of the Lord ; the fat with the breast he shall bring, 

a unity to the three offences of eating the flesh of the peace-offering 
in a state of uncleanness, of eating the fat or the blood, inasmuch as 
they all cut off from the communion of the faithful, and therefore 
from the feast of peace, which is only open to the children of the 
covenant. 

28-36. The priest's portion in the peace-offering. This is a special 
communication. It comes in here in its right place, as it completes 
the account of the peace-offering. This offering stands out by itself 
as that in which the flesh remains the property of the worshipper, 
whereas in all the others it was burnt on the altar, burnt in the place 
of ashes, or eaten by the priests. Hence, when the priest's rights in 
all the other sacrifices were enumerated, this was omitted, because the 
people here took the place of the priest in respect of the flesh. When 
the special nature of this offering in this respect has been made 
prominent, a new communication is made, addressed to the sons of 
Israel, and directing them, among other things, to assign certain por- 
tions of the victims to the priest. 29. His offering to the Lord, the 
part that is set apart to the Lord from the peace-offering. The Lord 
is present at this festival, partaking with his people. The beatitude 
of holiness is common to the Lord with all his intelligent and holy 
creatures. 30. His hands shall bring. It shall be a solemn act of 
the worshipper in person. The only apparent exceptions to this are 
the acts of the people by their representative head, and of the family 
by the father. The fire-offerings, those parts which are to be burned 
on the altar. These are described as the fat with the breast. This 
goes to prove that the use of any part as food by the priest is of the 
same import as the turning of it by fire into a sweet smell before the 
Lord. With the breast, or brisket. The breast is particularly relished 
as a dainty (Kalisch). It is also central in the body, and adjacent to 
the seat of life. It is therefore suitable for the Lord's part of the 



LEVITICUS Vn. 28-35. 101 

the breast to make it a waving before the Lord. 31. And the 
priest shall burn the fat upon the altar ; and Aaron and his 
sons shall have the breast. 32. And the right leg shall ye 
give as a heaving to the priest out of your sacrifices of peace. 

33. He of the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the 
peace-offering and the fat shall have the right leg for his part. 

34. For the wave-breast and the heave-leg have I taken of the 
sons of Israel from their sacrifices of peace, and I give them to 
Aaron the priest and to his sons as a statute forever from the 

sacrifice of peace. This was to be waved before the Lord. Waving® 
is moving to and fro. It probably denotes communion among the 
worshippers, as heaving points to their relation to God ; (see in Ex. 
xxix. 24). With the apparent exception of this and the corresponding 
passage Lev. viii. 27, it applies to that which is reserved from the 
altar to be assigned to the priest for his own use. The exception is 
only apparent; for the ram of consecration was a priest's offering, 
and therefore the right leg which would otherwise fall to the priest 
is consumed on the altar, as in the case of the priest's daily oblation. 
The communion of saints is founded on communion with God. 
Hence the waving is before the Lord. 31. The fat is burned as a 
sweet smell unto the Lord. The breast is handed over to the priests. 
32. And the right leg. 32 The Sept. uniformly gives the fore-arm for 
this word in the present application. There is no decided reason 
against this rendering, as the word only applies in one other passage 
(1 Sam. ix. 24) to the limb of an animal. It appears to be used in a 
large sense here, to include the thigh as well as the leg properly so 
called, since the latter would yield very little flesh. As a heaving. This 
was a raising up in token of dedication to God, or communion with 

him. 33. Be that offereth. The priest that officiates receives 

it, as he is the representative of God. The blood is for expiation and 
the fat for propitiation, in which consists the proper function of the 
priest. 34. The wave-breast, which is the Lord's part in the sac- 
rificial feast, is given to the priests in common ; the heave-leg falls to 
him who officiates on the occasion. From their sacrifices of peace* 
There is a different arrangement provided for other animals that were 



102 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

sons of Israel. 35. This is the portion of Aaron and the 
portion of his sons out of the fire-offerings of the Lord in the 
day when he presented them to be priests unto the Lord ; 
36. Which the Lord commanded to give to them in the day 
that he anointed them, from the sons of Israel, by a statute 
forever for their generations. 

37. This is the law for the burnt-sacrifice, for the oblation, 
and for the sin-sacrifice, and for the trespass-offering, and for 
the consecration, and for the sacrifice of peace. 38. Which 
the Lord commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that 
he commanded the sons of Israel to make their offerings unto 
the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai. ^f 

slain for food in their own land (Deut. xviii. 3). The portion™ the 
unction or perquisite connected with their consecration. The heave- 
leg of the ram of consecration was burned upon the altar, and belongs 
to the Lord for his priest thenceforward. In the day when he pre- 
sented them. The verb is without a definite subject. The Lord by his 
minister, Moses, brings them nigh to be his attendants. To be priests; 
literally to do the part of a priest. 36. In the day that he anointed 
them. The same subject is to be supplied also in this sentence. 

37, 38. These verses contain the summing up at the close of this 
section. This refers in the first instance to the last two chapters, as 
it begins with the burnt-sacrifice and goes on in nearly the same 
order to the peace-offering. But it is evident that it really covers 
the whole section, as the supplementary directions contained in these 
chapters for the guidance of the priests, presuppose the fundamental 
principles of these offerings addressed in the first five chapters to the 
people, without which they would be defective and unmeaning. It 
affords us the opportunity of recalling to mind the contents of these 
chapters in the order of the present recapitulation. 

The burnt-sacrifice was a victim of which the blood was wholly 
sprinkled on the altar, and the fat with all the flesh was burned on 
the altar as a fire-offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord. It is to be 
observed that the blood sprinkled on the altar does not awaken any 



LEVITICUS VII. 37. 103 

emotions of a pleasing kind in God. It is never said to be a sweet 
smell. And when we reflect that it is the blood that atones or ex- 
piates, because the blood shed is the life given, we do not wonder at 
this. We feel that it must call forth far different emotions in the 
breast of God as well as in the heart of man. The sense of justice 
constraining to exact death from the sinner himself or from the vol- 
untary victim that has taken his place is very far from being agreeable. 
It is the dire, hard, and strange work of the Holy and the Just One 
to vindicate the law and lay iniquity on the sinner or the sinner's 
friend. And wrath, indignation, grief, pity, and other painful feelings 
akin to these, contend with one another when this has to be done, and 
cannot be avoided. And what shame, sadness, and solemn awe, what 
regret and self-reproach, what unutterable throes of repentance, it is 
fitted to excite in the sinner who sees the victim bleed and die in his 
stead. On the other hand, the fat and the flesh turned by the fire of 
the altar into a subtile fume that scents the gale is the meet emblem 
of that righteousness with which the Lord is well pleased. Hence it 
is invariably said of the fire-offering that it is a sweet smell unto the 
Lord. The Scripture is full of the delight which the Lord takes in 
holiness, justice, goodness, truth, obedience, love. Passive, suffering 
satisfaction is to him a painful necessity ; active, victorious satisfac- 
tion is a source of the purest delight. The burnt-sacrifice is, moreover, 
a whole sacrifice, to indicate a complete propitiation. It stands at 
the head, and contains the sum and substance of all sacrifice. It was 
accordingly presented not only by the individual on private occasions, 
but by the whole nation on the common altar every morning and 
evening, and formed the chief and central sacrifice in all the annual 
solemnities of the chosen people. 

The oblation was a vegetable offering, chiefly of grain, mostly in the 
form of flour, and occasionally accompanied with oil and frankincense. 
In most sacrifices it was also associated with the libation of wine, 
mentioned elsewhere, (Num. xv.), which was of the same nature and 
significance. Like the fat and the flesh of the animal sacrifice, it 
represents obedience or good works, and therefore it is made a fire- 
offering of a sweet smell unto the Lord. It presupposes the burnt- 
sacrifice of propitiation, on the ground of which the offerer has 
already been accepted (i. 4). He is now walking with God and all 



104 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

his well-meant endeavors are accepted, with himself, through the merits 
of the unblemished Redeemer. He offers his oblation in token of his 
obligation and his purpose to do the will of God. The oblation of 
the high-priest every morning and evening has a peculiar significance. 
He represents the Mediator, and therefore his oblation symbolizes 
the obedience or righteousness of the Mediator himself. Hence it is 
the fitting accompaniment of the morning and evening burnt-sacrifice. 

The sin-sacrifice and the trespass-offering are properly classed 
together. Like the oblation they presume the offerer to have been 
already accepted in the burnt-offering of propitiation, and now to be 
a member of the commonwealth of Israel and a party in the covenant 
of grace. While his full purpose is to endeavor after new obedience, 
yet sins of inadvertence sometimes intervene to mar the beauty of his 
work and disturb the peace of his conscience. The sacrifices now in 
question serve to represent a fresh pleading of the blood of sprinkling 
and of the unblemished integrity of the substitute for the relief of 
conscience, the deepening of humility, the perfecting of repentance, 
and the recovery of the assurance of God's love. The sin-sacrifice 
refers mainly to the wrong done to the Author of our being, and 
therefore impressively to the blood of expiation, while it presupposes 
the obedience that propitiates. The trespass -offering looks to the 
right that ought to have been done, and lays emphasis on the positive 
satisfaction which magnifies and glorifies the law. They are the coun- 
terparts of one another, and together make up that which is signified 
by the burnt-sacrifice. Hence it is that the sinner is constantly said 
to be a trespasser, and the trespasser a sinner in the same offence ; and 
hence these two offerings are often made at the same time for the one 
object. 

The consecration is the filling of the hands of the priests with the 
things to be offered. This was the simple and primitive mode of 
appointing them to their office. ' Filling the hands was, however, a 
wider phrase, as it applied either to the worshipper providing himself 
with gifts to appear before the Lord, or to the consecrator putting the 
gifts to be offered into the hands of the priest in the act of consecra- 
tion. This ordinance does not come within the cycle of offerings 
contained in these seven chapters, though it consists of a number of 
these, and especially of the peace-offering. The proper formulary for 



LEVITICUS VII. 37. 105 

it is contained in Ex. xxix., and forms part of the communications 
made to Moses during the first forty days he was on the mount. This 
in itself affords one of the presumptions in favor of these seven chap- 
ters having been revealed to Moses in the period posterior to the 
idolatry of the people, and the pitching of the tent of meeting far from 
the camp, and prior to the consecration of the priests and the dedication 
of the tabernacle. The only allusion to this ordinance is in vi. 12-16, 
when the oblation of the high-priest to be presented on the occasion 
of his consecration and thenceforward every morning and evening is 
prescribed. It is placed here after the sin and trespass offerings, and 
before the peace-offering, because the ram of consecration, which gives 
character to the consecrating ordinance, is of a kindred nature with 
the peace-offering, and forms an act of communion. 

The sacrifice of peace is distinguished by the feast upon the sacri- 
fice which indicates participation in all the benefits of acceptance with 
God through the Redeemer. Hence in a wide sense it includes the 
passover and the consecration of priests, in both of which fellowship 
in the benefits of redemption through the blood of atonement is 
symbolized. It is, then, a step in advance of the burnt-sacrifice, as 
fellowship is beyond propitiation. It transcends also the oblation on 
the one hand, and the sin and trespass offerings on the other hand, as 
fellowship with God in the Mediator is something beyond the imper- 
fect endeavors of the accepted soul after new obedience. Hence we 
perceive that this cycle of offerings has its ground in the history of 
redemption, and is a faithful reflection of the beginning, progress, and 
end of salvation from sin. 

In these remarkable chapters we have a striking example of the 
mode of composition habitually pursued by Moses. As in the last 
chapter of Exodus he pursues his stately march through the process 
of the solemn erection of the tabernacle, without allowing himself or 
his reader to be embarrassed by preliminary, collateral, or consecutive 
details, which are reserved to be afterwards inserted at convenience 
in the two subsequent books, so here, in the first five chapters he 
lays down the fundamental principles of the several offerings for the 
instruction of the people, and reserves for the sixth and seventh 
chapters the collateral regulations for the further guidance of the 
priests. When we consider that there are nine separate communica- 
H 



106 LAWS OF THE OFFERINGS. 

tions of very variable lengths in these seven chapters, we cannot but 
acknowledge the good order with which they are combined into a 
whole. 

38. In mount Sinai. This appears to refer to the tent of meeting, 
which Moses pitched without the camp on the slopes of Sinai. (See 
on i. 1.) Otherwise the last two chapters must have preceded the 
former five. In the day. On the occasion of the erection of the 
tabernacle, which, with the consecration of the priests, occupied seven 
preliminary days, and was consummated on the eighth day, which was 
the first day of the second year, on which the princes of the tribes of 
Israel came forward to make their offerings. This goes to prove 
that these chapters were made known by Moses to the people shortly 
before the formal setting up of the tabernacle. In the wilderness of 
Sinai. The present regulations apply in several of their details to 
the encampment in the wilderness, a state of things which might have 
terminated in the course of the second year. They will at all events 
have to undergo the requisite modifications when the camp and the 
wilderness pass away. Some of these modifications are expressly 
ordered in the subsequent books of the Pentateuch, for instance, in 
Deut. xii. 15. Some of them are not put on record, though they must 
have been introduced in practice. And others still would have been 
made, had the course of events in the future history of Israel been 
different from what it actually turned out to be. For instance, one 
central plan was no doubt necessary for the ark of God, containing 
the two tables of the testimony, to impress upon men's minds the unity 
of God and of his people. But this is not inconsistent with the erec- 
tion of an altar and a sanctuary, it might be in every tribe for the 
convenience of mothers and children, who could not go far from home 
(Lev. xii.), and for the relief of the metropolitan sanctuary, which 
would otherwise be overcrowded with worshippers. And it is cer- 
tainly quite in keeping with the worship of God on the weekly 
Sabbath in the meeting-place of every village or township in all the 
dwellings of the people (Lev. xxiii. 3). A remarkable intimation of 
the lawfulness and probability in certain circumstances of establishing 
local sanctuaries is found at the very close of the moral law, and at 
the threshold of the civil code (Ex. xx. 24) : " An altar of earth thou 
shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-sacrifices 



LEVITICUS VII. 38. 107 

and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thy oxen; in every place where 
I record my name I will come unto thee and bless thee." This 
implies, it may he, successive places ; but we have no reason what- 
ever to exclude simultaneous places of sacrificial worship also to meet 
the exigencies of a wide-spreading population. The groundless hy- 
pothesis that subordinate details adapted to the circumstances of the 

desert are, or are intended to be, stereotyped for all future stages of 

* 
the history of God's people, is a fertile source of stumbling to the in- 
considerate, objection for the sciolist, and difficulty in the way of the 
easy and safe interpretation of the law. 

NOTES. 

13. With cakes, r&rr^S, upon cakes of. These broad round cakes 
may have been placed under the properly sacrificial cakes of the 
previous verse. 

18. A foul thing, b*iSQ , Sept. /xiW/Aa. The word occurs elsewhere 
only in Lev. xix. 7, Isa. lxv. 4, and Ezek. iv. 14, and it is well to dis- 
tinguish it in the rendering from terms of kindred meaning. 

21. Loathsome thing, y^O . This form occurs about ten times, of 
which eight are in Leviticus. Crawler or creeper, yyti . 

30. Wave, Spri . It is used of the van in winnowing, the sieve in 
sifting, the saw in cutting, the stick in beating, the hand in beckoning 
and threatening. A waving, ns*!3F» . 

32. Leg, pw, Sept. ppa^oiv, the fore-leg, including both the leg 
and the shoulder, always in the present connection. Onk., the Syr., 
and the Arab, retain the original word ; and the Latin versions of these 
have generally armus, but occasionally cms. The word is used six 
times of the human leg, Deut. xxv. 35 ; Judg. xv. 8 ; Ps. cxlvii. 10 ; 
Prov. xxvi. 7 ; Cant. v. 15 ; Isa. xlvii. 2. Only in 1 Sam. ix. 24 is it 
rendered KoAe'a, the thighbone. This, indeed, is the only other passage 
in which it is applied to an animal. Arm, Si-it, is applied to the 
fore-leg of animals in Num. vi. 19; Deut. xviii. 3. This seems to be 
the same limb, only more precisely defined by a term borrowed from 
the human form, and so distinguished from the hind-leg, which corres- 
ponds strictly to the human leg. toW3 seems to apply to the two 
hind legs in particular. 

35. Portion, ftnfisa , ointment, gift ; r. spread over, lay on, anoint. 
This noun is rendered in Onk. WOiy, increase or gift. 



SECTION II.— CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS. 



VIII. AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

The directions concerning the raiment and the consecration of the 
priests are given in Ex. xxviii. and xxix. The execution of the order 
concerning the raiment is recorded in Ex. xxxix. 1-31. The re- 
mainder of this chapter contains the announcement that the work of 
the tabernacle, having been completed, was presented to Moses. The 
present section of the Book of Leviticus contains the record of the 
consecration of the priests, and the solemn events that accompanied 
that ceremonial. It was strongly felt by the rabbis that the consecra- 
tion of Aaron and his sons, which lasted seven days, must have pre- 
ceded the formal inauguration of the national worship in the tabernacle. 
Hence Rabbi Salomo affirms that the consecration here narrated took 
place on the last seven days of the first year. There is much to be 
said in favor of this view. It would be preposterous to suppose all 
the offerings of the princes made and the passover celebrated in the 
first month before the consecration of the priests. And it would be 
a very cumbrous and embarrassing arrangement to have the offerings 
of the princes and the consecration of the priests going on with equal 
pace during the first seven or eight days of the first month. And the 
fire from the Lord consuming the sacrifices, which is the closing event 
of the eighth day (ix. 24), fits in very well with the glory of the Lord 
filling the tabernacle when the process of erecting it was completed 
(Ex. xl. 34). Moreover, the princes are said to come forward to offer 
on the day on which Moses finished setting up the tabernacle (Num. 
vii. 1), which implies that the setting up had occupied several days. 
Other coincidences will present themselves to the attentive reader; 
and we have now only to add that the narrative is not inconsistent 
with this arrangement. We may suppose that the command to have 
the tabernacle erected on the first day of the new year was given to 
108 



LEVITICUS VIII. 109 

Moses at the time when the priestly attire and all the parts and 
properties of the tabernacle had been presented before him. This 
may have been eight or ten days before the end of the first year. 
About the same time the order to consecrate the priests was issued, 
as the necessary preliminary to the opening of the tabernacle service. 
This order required a period of seven days for its due execution. On 
receiving it, therefore, Moses proceeds to convene the assembly at 
the door of the tent of meeting. The tent of meeting must have been 
so far constructed as to admit of this locality being fixed for the con- 
vocation. We are not to suppose, with some of the rabbis, that the 
tabernacle was set up and taken clown every day of the seven during 
which the consecration of the priests was going on ; though, as it was 
a tent designed to be moved from place to place, and therefore fre- 
quently taken down and set up again, the supposition is not absurd. 
In the absence of any record we cannot tell how the matter was actu- 
ally arranged. But we see no reason why Bezalel might not present 
the tabernacle with all its parts put together in due form, or, what is 
no less probable, why Moses, with the assistance of the master and 
his craftsmen, might not once for all set it up as far as was necessary 
for the consecration of the priests. On the former supposition, we 
may conceive that Bezalel would take the tent to pieces that it might 
be formally erected again by Moses. The latter hypothesis is not 
inconsistent with the statement of Ex. xl. 17 : " And it came to pass, 
in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month, 
that the tabernacle was set up." This implies that the solemn pitching 
of the tabernacle was completed on that day. And the following 
verses (18 sq.) then merely describe the process, which may have 
been Commenced some days before. This view is also favored by 
the statement of Ex. xxix. 36, 37: "And thou shalt offer every day 
a bullock of sin-offering for atonement; and thou shalt purge the 
altar, when thou atonest for it, and shalt anoint it to hallow it. Seven 
days shalt thou atone for the altar, and hallow it." Hence it appears 
that the seven days of consecration were, at the same time, seven days 
of hallowment or dedication of the altar. This gives a new significance 
and comprehensiveness to these seven days ; as they apply not only 
to the priests, but to the tabernacle and its sacred furniture. It also 
speaks very strongly for the consecration of the priests being prelim- 



HO AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

VIII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Take 
Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the 
anointing oil, and the bullock of sin-sacrifice, and the two 

inary to the inauguration of the tabernacle service. If the altar must 
be purged seven days before it is fit for the solemn worship of God, 
must not this have taken place before the formal opening of the daily 
service, and the long succession of inaugural offerings to be made by 
the princes of the tribes ? It is befitting the grandeur and sacredness 
of the occasion that the successive steps in the formal erection of the 
tabernacle should not be crowded into a single day, but extended over 
the period of seven days, a number not only of suitable magnitude, but 
of hereditary sacredness. It may be added that this view goes to 
confirm the conclusion that the preceding seven chapters were com- 
municated at a still earlier period. 

The present section contains three chapters : the first recording the 
consecration of the priests and the sanctifying of the tabernacle, and 
especially the altar; the second, the inauguration of the national 
worship on the first day of the new year ; and the third, the occur- 
rence of a melancholy event on the occasion, and the remainder of 
the details that are necessary to complete the previous chapter. 

The eighth chapter reports the consecration of Aaron and his two 
sons. It contains the arraying of the priests and the anointing of 
them and of the tabernacle (1-13), and the consecration of the priests 
(14-36). The latter may be subdivided into the sin-sacrifice (14-17), 
the burnt-sacrifice (18-21), and the ram of consecration (22-36). 

1-13. The arraying of the priests and the anointing of the taber- 
nacle, of the furniture, and of the high priest. This command is given 
to Moses after Bezalel had finished his work, and presented it all 
before him. 2. Take Aaron. He is thus called of God to be a priest. 
This divine appointment assures the people of acceptance through 
his mediation. And his sons with him. This secures the succession 
not of one line, but of the whole family, and provides the high-priest 
with duly qualified assistants in his work. And the garments, which 
Bezalel and his craftsmen have now prepared (Ex. xxxix.). And the 
anointing oil. The directions for the composition of this oil are given 



LEVITICUS Vm. 1-7. HI 

rams, and the basket of sweet bread. 3. And gather all the 
assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting. 4. And 
Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and the assembly- 
was gathered unto the door of the tent of meeting. 5. And 
Moses said unto the assembly, This is the thing which the 
Lord hath commanded to do. 6. And Moses presented Aaron 
and his sons and washed them with water. 7. And he put 

in Ex. xxx. 22-33, which is a part of the communication made to 
Moses on the mount. From this passage we learn that the tabernacle 
with its furniture, and Aaron and his sons were to be anointed with 
it. Moses, of course, had it prepared by the perfumer. And the 
bullock. This and the two rams and the basket of sweet bread are all 
prescribed in Ex. xxix. 3. And gather all the assembly. This con- 
secration was to be public, that the whole congregation might be 
aware that the priests had been duly appointed to their office. The 
assembly consisted of the adult men of twenty years old and upward. 
It was the lawfully constituted convention of the nation. When 
regularly summoned, those who were present formed a lawful assembly. 
Those who were absent, including the women and minors, would learn 
the event from those who were present. Unto the door of the tent of 
meeting, where the altar stood, in the rear and by the sides of which 
the people would stand at a respectful distance. We cannot tell 
whether the hangings of the court were yet put up. But only the 
slaves of a narrow literalism can suppose the whole people to be 
present to a man at any public meeting. The tent of meeting was 
the place where God met with man. 4. Moses obeys, and convenes 
the meeting. 5. He explains what is about to be done, that the 
assembly may be intelligent witnesses. The obedience of man to 
God is a reasonable service. 6. Presented. This is the word usually 
rendered " offered." It means, literally, " brought near." And washed 
them, according to the directions in Ex. xxxix. 4. The washing with 
water is a symbol of internal cleansing or sanctification. This washing 
was performed at the laver, which stood between the altar and the 
door of the tabernacle. See on Ex. xxix. 4. 7. Moses now arrays 
Aaron with the robes of the high-priesthood. The coat and girdle 



112 AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

upon him the coat and girded him with the girdle, and clothed 
him with the robe, and put upon him the ephod, and girded 
him with the belt of the ephod, and bound it with it. 8. And 
he put upon him the breast-plate, and set in the breast-plate 
the Urim and the Tummim. 9. And he put the mitre on his 
head, and put upon the mitre on his forehead the golden plate, 

are mentioned in Ex. xxviii. 40 ; xxxix. 27-29. The coat was the 
inner garment, worn over the shirt and reaching to the feet. The 
robe and the ephod, with its belt, are described in Ex. xxviii. 31-35, 
6-12, and explained in the remarks on these passages. The robe is 
entirely of blue, and on the skirt of it were pomegranates of blue and 
purple and crimson, alternating with bells of gold. It reached to the 
knee. It was worn over the coat. The ephod with its belt covered 
the back down to the waist. On the shoulder-straps of it were at- 
tached two onyx stones, set in gold, and having each six of the names 
of the twelve tribes of Israel engraven on it. 8. The breast-plate. 
The robe, the ephod, and the breast-plate were the three pieces of 
dress peculiar to the high-priest. The breast-plate covered the breast, 
as the ephod did the back, and was fastened to it by laces. The 
Urim and the Tummim, the Lights and the Rights, or perfections, are 
the twelve precious stones, fitted in a case and placed in the breast- 
plate, having the names of the twelve tribes engraven on them. 9. 
The mitre and the golden plate, the holy crown, on which was engraven 
the words, Holiness to the Lord, are described in Ex. xxviii. 36-39. 
For the details of the explanation of the priestly attire, we refer to 
Ex. xxviii. Suffice it to say here that the coat shadowed forth the 
holiness, and the robe the righteousness, of the high-priest. The 
ephod bearing the onyx stones on the shoulder-straps, with the breast- 
plate containing the Urim and the Tummim, is symbolic of the priestly 
function. He bears the people on his shoulders as the propitiator, 
taking upon him their responsibilities, and on his breast as the inter- 
cessor pleading their cause. Each stone in the breast-plate is a light 
and a right, and all together are emblematic of the complete light and 
righteousness, or illuminating and propitiating virtue of the great 
High Priest. The holy crown, with its legible and intelligible motto, 



LEVITICUS VIII. 8-13. Hg 

the holy crown ; as the Lord commanded Moses. 10. And 
Moses took the anointing -oil, and anointed the tabernacle and 
all that was therein, and sanctified them. 11. And he spat- 
tered thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the 
altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its stand, to sanc- 
tify them. 12. And he poured of the anointing oil upon 
Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. 13. And 
Moses presented Aaron's sons, and clothed them with coats 
and girded them with a girdle, and bound bonnets upon them; 
as the Lord commanded Moses. 



indicates the holiness and authority which appertain to the royal 
Priest. And in their correlation the stones on the shoulder specially 
denote the priestly, those on the breast-plate the prophetic, and the 
golden plate on the forehead the kingly, function of the Mediator. 

10-12 The anointing (Ex. xxix. 7). The unction is typical of 
sanctification (1 John ii. 20). The tabernacle, the altar, the laver, 
and all their appurtenances were to be anointed (Ex. xxx. 26-29). 
And sanctified them. Sanctifying is here setting apart to a holy use. 
It is the symbol of internal or moral sanctification. It is here de- 
scribed as the effect of the anointing. 11. And he spattered thereof. 
The mode of anointing is here indicated. The seven times are sig- 
nificant of the perfection of holiness which is to belong to the altar. 
12. And he poured. On Aaron's head the anointing oil is not spattered 
but poured, so that it trickled down his beard and reached to the 
skirt of his garment (Ps. cxxxiii.). This indicates the plenitude of 
holiness which is to be in the high-priest. And anointed him to 
sanctify him. This is the constant phrase to denote the effect of 
anointing. 13. The coats, girdles, and bonnets of the ordinary priests 
are then put on. Aaron's sons may, in Scripture phrase, include grand- 
sons, if any of them were of the proper age. The silence of Scripture 
regarding them is not a proof to the contrary effect. As the Lord 
commanded Moses. The whole ceremonial is a divine institution and 
derives all its authority and all its significance from this fact. Hence 
the writer is careful to note this circumstance. Rites of human in- 
stitution have no authority or valid significance. 



114 AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

14. And he brought nigh the bullock of the sin-sacrifice ; 
and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the 
bullock of sin-sacrifice. 15. And he slew it ; and Moses took 
the blood and put it on the horns of the altar around, and 

14-36. The consecration. This begins with the sin*sacrifice 
14-17. (See on Ex. xxix. 10-14). And he brought nigh. Some 
one did this on behalf of Aaron and his sons, who are the offerers in 
this case. The bullock of sin-sacrifice. When the children of God, 
already accepted through the one coming propitiation, appear before 
him on solemn occasions it is meet to present the sin-sacrifice for such 
sin of inadvertence as they may have contracted. Hence, on the con- 
secration of the priestly family the sin-sacrifice is presented first to 
set them right in the view of the law for the coming solemnity. 
Aaron and his sons, as the offerers laid their hands on the head of 
the victim in due form. Moses is here the officiating priest, by the 
command of the Lord. 15. And he slew it. Some one of or for 
Aaron and his sons performed this part. And Moses took. The acts 
proper to the officiating priest are carefully distinguished from those 
which are performed by the worshipper or his assistant. The blood 
that expiates. On the horns. These are more elevated than the 
sides of the altar. The place of application is more solemn, in keep- 
ing with the pre-eminent solemnity of the occasion, though the sig- 
nificance of the blood is the same. The ritual here agrees with Ex. 
xxix. 12 ; and though it differs from Lev. iv. 6, 7, it agrees with 
Lev. iv. 25, 30. The actual fact of a known sin of inadvertence in 
the high-priest is more pregnant with evil consequences than in an 
ordinary member of the sacred community, or than the possibility of 
an inadvertent sin which is unknown and unproved. And sanctified 
it to octone for it: 15 We are to notice the distinction between this 
sentence smd "anointed to sanctify." The latter points to sanctifi- 
cation as the end, the former to propitiation. Sanctification and pro- 
pitiation, though perfectly distinct, go hand in hand. The application 
of the blood implies sanctification, because in this application the 
sinner lays his hand on the victim, which act involves a change of 
mind. The blood itself effects the atonement. The latter phrase 



LEVITICUS VHI. 16-21. 115 

purged the altar, and poured the blood at the foot of the altar, 
and sanctified it, to atone for it. 16. And he took all the fat 
that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the 
two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. 
17. But the bullock, and its hide, its flesh, and its dung, he 
burned with fire without the camp ; as the Lord commanded 
Moses. 

18. And he presented the ram of burnt-sacrifice ; and Aaron 
and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19. 
And he slew it ; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar 
around. 20. And the ram he cut into its pieces ; and Moses 
burned the head and the pieces and the fat. 21. And the in- 
wards and legs he washed with water : and Moses burned the 
whole ram upon the altar : it was a burnt-sacrifice for a sweet 
smell, a fire-offering unto the Lord ; as the Lord commanded 
Moses. 

here might be rendered " to atone upon it," and yield a good meaning. 
But the context favors the former rendering. 1 6. This is in accordance 
with the ritual of the sin-sacrifice (iv. 8-10). 17. This corresponds 
with iv. 11, 12. He burned. The worshipper or his attendant re- 
moved the carcass to the place of ashes, and there it was burned to 
ashes as an accursed thing. The burning here represents penal death. 
18-21. The ram of burnt-sacrifice. (See on Ex. xxix. 15-18). 
And he presented. The offerer or one on his behalf. The ram of 
burnt-sacrifice. As the bullock has been offered for a sin-sacrifice, a 
ram is ordered for a burnt-sacrifice. As the former gave prominence 
to expiation, this brings out propitiation and shadows forth and here 
brings to remembrance the one great atonement on which salvation 
rests. It is here offered by Aaron and his sons for themselves, as 
sinful men needing an atonement, to obtain legal acceptance with 
God. Moses, it is still to be remembered, is now the officiating 
priest and mediator. And he slew. One of the offerers or of their 
attendants here acts (vs. 20, 21). The whole process is in accordance 
with the directions in chap. i. 



116 AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

22. And he presented the second ram, the ram of consecra- 
tion : and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of 
the ram. 23. And he slew it ; and Moses took of its blood 
and put upon the tip of Aaron's right ear and upon the thumb 
of his right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot. 24. 
And he presented Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood 
upon the tip of their right ear and upon the thumb of their 
right hand and upon the great toe of their right foot ; and 
Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar around. 25. And 
he took the fat and the tail, and all the fat that was upon the 
inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys and 

22-36. The ram of consecration. (See on Ex. xxix. 19-37.) The 
place usually assigned to the sacrifice of peace is here given to the 
ram of consecration. This means the ram of fillings, because now for 
the first time the hands of Aaron and his sons are filled with that 
which is afterwards placed on the altar. It is therefore in all 
respects a sacrifice of fellowship and peace. For they not only now 
officiate as priests, but partake afterwards of the sacrificial flesh. 23^ 
Put upon the tip of Aaron's right ear. The blood of consecration is 
now applied to Aaron. The right side is the seat of activity. The 
ear, the hand, and the foot are organs intimately connected with in- 
telligence, will, and power. By the ear we hear and understand ; by 
the hands and feet we obey the will. The application of blood to these 
organs denotes the expiation of guilt in thought, act, and movement, 
in order that the expiated person may consecrate all the faculties of 
mind and capacities of body to the service of God. 24. And he pre- 
sented Aaron's sons. We are not informed who presented them. The 
Sept. supposes Moses. It may have been the minister of Moses, or 
one of the elders of the tribe of Levi. The blood of expiation is in 
like manner applied to them. It is then sprinkled on the altar, the 
place of expiation. 

25-29. The filling of the hands, or consecration proper. In the 
order of directions given to Moses (Ex. xxix. 21) the spattering of 
the blood and the oil upon Aaron and his sons is set down before this 



LEVITICUS VIII. 25-28. 117 

their fat, and the right leg. 26. And out of the basket of 
sweet bread that was before the Lord he took one sweet cake 
and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer, and put upon the 
fat and upon the right leg. 27. And he put the whole upon 
the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and made 
them a waving before the Lord. 28. And Moses took them 
from their hands, and burned them on the altar upon the 
burnt-sacrifice: they are a consecration for a sweet smell, a 

act. In the order of narrative here it is placed after it. As there is 
no obvious reason for a transposition of the narrative we take the 
order here for that of actual occurrence. In Exodus the legislator, 
we may presume, speaking of the blood in the previous verse com- 
pletes what he has to say about it before proceeding to another topic. 
But in practice, as the oil and the blood had been just before applied 
to the priests, it was natural that an intervening ceremony should 
take place before a second application of the same elements. Besides,, 
as all the blood seems to have been sprinkled on the altar, some time 
must be allowed for it to drip into a vessel in which it might be 
gathered for this other purpose. And, moreover, a new meaning 
comes out for this second application of blood and fat as soon as the 
priests are installed in their office, but not before. 25. And the right leg. 
This is the priest's portion of the peace-offering (vii. 32), and hence 
we learn that this is, in fact, a sacrifice of peace. As the priest, how- 
ever, is in this case the offerer, the right leg is burned upon the altar 
according to the principle of vi. 16. 26. One of each of the three 
sorts of cakes is placed upon the fat and the right leg. 27. Put the 
whole upon the hands. This is the solemn filling of the hands of 
Aaron and his sons, whereby they are instituted into their office. And 
made them a waving. The waving was accomplished by Moses plac- 
ing his hands beneath those of the designated priests and waving them 
to and fro with that which was laid upon them. It denotes the com- 
munion of the priests with Moses in this solemn act, and of both 
parties with God. 28. And Moses took them. That which was waved 
usually went to the priests instead of being burnt upon the altar. 
But in this great act of initiation the memorial cakes, which always 



118 AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

fire-offering unto the Lord. 29. And Moses took the breast, 
and made it a waving before the Lord : of the ram of conse- 
cration it was the part of Moses; as the Lord commanded 
Moses. 

30. And Moses took of the anointing oil and of the blood 
which was upon the altar, and spattered upon Aaron, upon 
his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons 

go on the altar, are waved along with the right leg. And the latter, 
which was given to the priests, is on this occasion consumed on the 
altar, because the ram of consecration was a priest's offering according 
to vi. 16. Upon the whole sacrifice. This represented the one great 
real propitiation, on which is founded all just and true fellowship 
with God, of which the peace-offering was the emblem. This com- 
pletes the filling of the hands by which the priests were inducted into 
their office. 29. The breast. This is the peculiar portion of the 
Lord in the peace-offering (vii. 30), which is given over to the priests. 
In the present instance it falls to Moses as the consecrating priest. 
As the Lord commanded Moses. We observe how carefully this is 
noted on every suitable occasion. In this case it has the additional 
effect of showing that he did not appropriate this part of his own 
accord. 

30-36. The completion of the consecration. Now that the blood 
of expiation has been sprinkled and the fat of propitiation has been 
burned on the. altar, between which the solemn act of filling the hands 
has intervened, Moses takes of the anointing oil and of the blood upon 
the altar, and spatters upon Aaron and his sons and their garments. 
This is a significant act. When they were merely designated to the 
priesthood the oil and the blood were applied that they might be 
morally and legally qualified for consecration. But now the blood 
has been sprinkled on the altar and trickled down into the receptacle 
prepared for it on this occasion. It has therefore now made the 
expiation. And Aaron and his sons have been formally introduced 
into the priestly office, and authorized to perform its functions. And 
hence the blood of expiation and the oil of sanctification are once 
more applied to them and to their garments in token of their complete 



LEVITICUS VIII. 30, 33. 119 

with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons 
and the garments of his sons with him. 31. And Moses said 
unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the 
tent of meeting and there eat it, and the bread that is in the 
basket of consecration ; as I have commanded, saying, Aaron 
and his sons shall eat it. 32. And that which remaineth of 
the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 33. And 

qualification as invested priests for their sacred and sublime part. 
This repeated application, while it expresses their typical fitness for 
the functions of a ceremonial service, indicates at the same time with 
equal emphasis their personal unfitness to accomplish the task of a 
real mediator. The true mediator must need no propitiation or sanc- 
tification for himself; in other words, he must need no mediator. He 
must be holy in nature and in life as the moral condition of his com- 
petence to make reconciliation for others. 31. Boil the flesh. After 
the solemn lustration comes the crowning privilege of full communion 
with God. The ram of consecration is truly a sacrifice of peace. 
Hence the flesh is to be prepared for the sacrificial meal. At the door 
of the tent of meeting. It is a holy meal to be partaken of in the holy 
place. The basket of consecration, in which the remaining cakes of 
consecration are contained. As I have commanded, saying. Moses 
here speaks in the name of the Lord according to Ex. xxix. 32. He 
himself has no part in that which belongs to the offerer ; but he has 
the breast which falls to the consecrator. 32. That which remaineth 
is to be burnt with fire, as in the peace-offering (vii. 17) ; but on the 
next day after it is offered. 33. Te shall not go forth. They were 
not to leave the court of the tabernacle day or night during seven 
days. It is manifest that shelter and other conveniences for refresh- 
ment and repose must have been provided in some part of the court, 
which was now manifestly marked out and enclosed. Seven days 
shall he fill your hands. Seven is the number of the covenant, of 
completeness and consecration. 34. As he hath done this day. " He " 
is used, without more exact definition, to denote the Lord, who by his 
servant Moses effects their consecration. This filling of hands, it 
appears from these statements, is to be repeated on each of the seven 



120 AARON AND HIS SONS CONSECRATED. 

from the door of the tent of meeting ye shall not go forth for 
seven days, until the end of the days of your consecration ; for 
seven days shall he fill your hand. 34. As he hath done this 
day, the Lord hath commanded to do to atone for you. 35. 
And at the door of the tent of meeting ye shall abide day and 
night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, and ye 
shall not die : for so I am commanded. 36. And Aaron and 
his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the 
hand of Moses. 26 § § § 

days. This accords with Ex. xxix. 36, where a bullock of sin-sacrifice 
is prescribed for every day. If the sin-sacrifice and the consecration 
ram are to be repeated every day the same rule will also apply to the 
ram of burnt-sacrifice. All this imparts a profound solemnity to the 
occasion. 35. At the door. This fixes the place. Day and night. 
This is explicit as to the time of service. Keep the charge, discharge 
all the priestly functions necessary during this preliminary period. 
And ye shall not die. This means that these duties must be exactly 
fulfilled, lest death by the special visitation of God be the consequence. 
For so lam commanded. This sevenfold repetition of the inaugural 
service demands a divine warrant. At the same time it teaches most 
distinctly and emphatically the inherent imperfection of the Levitical 
priesthood. A sacrifice having atoning validity needs no reiteration ; 
and the sevenfold repetition only serves the more clearly to point to 
a propitiation and a propitiator that will be perfect. 36. This verse 
puts on record the uniform diligence of Aaron and his sons. 

NOTES. 

15. Atone for it, vhy m &s. The latter word might be rendered 
" upon it," if it suited the context. But it does not suit here or in 
Ex. xxix. 36, 37. 



LEVITICUS IX. 1. 121 



IX. THE OPENING OF THE TABERNACLE SERVICE. 

IX. 1. And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses 
called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2. And he 

On an attentive examination of the fortieth chapter of Exodus, with 
an endeavor to realize in imagination the actualities of the scene de- 
scribed, we shall come to the conclusion that both . the order given in 
the first fifteen verses and the execution of it in the remainder of the 
chapter are of the nature of a summary of events that may occupy 
several days. In vs. 31, 32 the narrative even passes from the actual 
into the habitual. The order in Ex. xxix. 35-37 to fill the hand of 
Aaron and his sons seven days, and to atone for the altar and sanctify 
it during the same period, acts which are indicated in vs. 9-15 of the 
order given in Ex. xl., prepare us to expand the time occupied with 
its execution into at least eight days. For it is to be observed that 
Moses in the following part of the chapter makes no allusion whatever 
to the anointing of the tabernacle and its furniture and its priests, and 
yet goes on to record 'the manifestation of the divine glory in the erected 
tabernacle. The natural inference is, that the seven days anointing 
had already taken place, and that the concluding event took place on 
the formal erection of the already expiated and anointed tabernacle. 
The consecration of the priests and the dedication of the tabernacle 
recorded in Lev. viii. goes far to corroborate this inference. The 
chapter now to be considered will contribute in no small measure to 
its more general acceptance with thoughtful readers of the Bible. 

In this chapter we have the inauguration of the national worship. 
It consists of the orders conveyed through Moses (1-7), the offerings 
for Aaron himself (8-14), the offerings for the people (15-21), and 
the glory of the Lord appearing after the benediction (22-24). 

1-7. The orders conveyed by Moses. And it came to pass on the 
eighth day. This form of words indicates the introduction of a new 
and distinct course of events. The eighth day is, we conceive, the 
first day of the month Abib, with which the sacred year commenced. 
For this is manifestly the opening of the tabernacle worship. It 
therefore coincides with the close of the proceedings recorded in Ex. 
16 



122 THE OPENING OF THE TABERNACLE SERVICE. 

said unto Aaron, Take thee a calf of the herd for a sin-sacrifice, 
and a ram for a burnt-sacrifice, both perfect, and offer them 
before the Lord. 3. And thou shalt speak to the sons of 
Israel, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin-sacrifice, 
and a calf and a lamb of the first year, all perfect, for a burnt- 
offering. 4. And a bullock and a ram for a peace-offering to 
sacrifice before the Lord, and an oblation mingled with oil : 

xl. Called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel : the former 
to officiate, the latter to offer, for the people whom they represented 
on this national festival. 2. Unto Aaron, who is now the ordained 
high-priest about to enter upon the discharge of his functions. He 
is directed to take for himself a calf for expiation and a ram for pro- 
pitiation. The typical high-priest is compassed with infirmity, like 
other men, and needs to begin with offering an atonement for himself. 
The acknowledgement of infirmity and the expiation for it come 
first. Then the great propitiatory sacrifice itself is foreshadowed by 
the burnt-sacrifice. 3. And thou shalt speak. Aaron is here initiated 
into the prophetic and kingly parts of his office. * He is henceforth to 
instruct and direct the people as their spiritual guide. To the sons 
of Israel, many of them at hand, no doubt, but all of them represented 
by the elders already mentioned. The people are directed also to 
present a kid of the goats for a sin-sacrifice, and a calf and a lamb for 
a burnt-sacrifice. 4. But a peace-offering also is to be presented by 
the people, as this was a day of privilege, honor, and fellowship 
with God. And an oblation. This was the indispensable accompani- 
ment of the peace-offering, the flesh of which was to be dressed and 
eaten with bread by the worshipper. But this oblation seems to be a 
special one, associated afterwards with the burnt-sacrifice (vs. 17). 
For. The reason is now to be assigned for the peace-offerings of the 
people. To~day the Lord appeareth 4 unto you. The cloud may have 
already covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled 
the tabernacle, as it is recorded in Ex. xl. 34. This was a new thing 
only in so far as the transition from the temporary to the permanent 
tent of meeting was concerned. But the present statement seems to 
refer to the same event as that in vs. 6. It is therefore really a new 



LEVITICUS IX. 4-7. 123 

for to-day the Lord appeareth unto you. 5. And they took 
that which Moses commanded before the tent of meeting : and 
all the assembly drew near and stood before the Lord. 6. And 
Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded 
that ye do ; and the glory of the Lord will appear unto you. 
7. And Moses said unto Aaron, Draw near to the altar, and 

appearance of the Lord. This is evidently the greatest of all days 
since the proclamation of the moral law on mount Sinai. The Lord is 
about to follow up the established service with a visible manifestation 
of his acceptance with his people and their worship. The peace- 
offering is the appropriate service for those who are accepted of God. 
This manifestation of the Lord also suits the day on which the setting 
up of the tabernacle was completed. 5. And they took. They will- 
ingly complied with the requirement. Before the tent of meeting, 
where the victims are to be slain (i. 11). All the assembly, the regu- 
larly constituted meeting of the people. Drew near, with solemn 
reverence as willing and unanimous worshippers. 6. And Moses said. 
He is still supreme under God over the people. Hath commanded 
that ye do. This is no human device or will-worship. God has 
appointed the way in which you may approach him with acceptance. 
The glory of the Lord. The visible sign of his presence will be 
miraculous and glorious. But the outward and sensible glory will 
only be a faint shadow of the inward and spiritual glory which it 
signifies. The glory of God is his spiritual nature, his power, wisdom, 
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. But the glory that excelleth is 
his mercy. In keeping with this the glory of his justice is the propitia- 
tion for sin, foreshadowed in this ceremonial observance. The glory 
of his power is the regeneration of the soul by his word and Spirit. 
All this glory is to shine forth in the deep meaning of this day's ser- 
vice. The Lord is the God not merely of eternity and omnipotence, but 
of the promise and covenant of mercy. Will appear unto you. What- 
ever any think of the appearance mentioned in v. 4, it is evident that 
this refers to the manifestation of the Divine presence and acceptance 
of the sacrifice which is recorded at the end of this chapter. 7. Draw 
near to the altar. What a solemn moment for Aaron, the represent* 



124 THE OPENING OF THE TABERNACLE SERVICE. 

make thy sin-sacrifice and thy burnt-sacrifice, and atone for 
thyself and for the people ; and make the offering of the people, 
and atone for them, as the Lord hath commanded. 

8. And Aaron drew near to the altar ; and slew the calf of 
the sin-sacrifice which was for himself. 9. And the sons of 
Aaron presented the blood to him ; and he dipped his finger 
in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar ; and he 

ative mediator between God and man now about to enter upon his 
office. Make 7 thy sin-sacrifice and thy burnt-sacrifice. After all the 
expiation and propitiation of the seven days of consecration he is 
to come with a sin and a burnt sacrifice for himself. He is but an 
imperfect, or only ceremonially perfect, shadow of the true High-priest. 
His multiplied and diversified sacrifices are only symbols of the one 
true, all-sufficient sacrifice that is hereafter to be made. Atone for 
thyself and for the people. In atoning for himself he was atoning 
virtually for the people. An accepted high-priest was necessary to 
make atonement for the people ; so that in setting himself right at the 
court of heaven he was only qualifying himself for effectually under- 
taking the cause of the people. And make the offering of the people, 
when thou art thyself accepted through the expiatory and propitiatory 
sacrifices for thyself. And atone for them. The atonement for them 
demanded a perfect priest and a perfect victim. In the real propitia- 
tion these two are combined in one. As the Lord hath commanded. 
This one word gives hope and vitality to the broken and humbled 
heart of Aaron. With this voice of authority he is encouraged to 
gird up the loins of his mind to the sublime task laid upon him. 

8-14. The offerings for Aaron. Drew near to the altar, with all 
the weight of his official responsibility pressing upon him. Which 
was for himself. The writer emphatically distinguishes for whom the 
offering is made. It is to be observed too, that Aaron, being him- 
self the offerer, slays the victim as usual, either himself or by his 
assistants. 9. And the sons of Aaron, acting in this case as priests. 
He dipped his finger. As there is not a particular offence charged 
against Aaron, he himself officiates. Put it upon the horns of the 
altar. The sacrifice is not made for a known sin of inadvertence as 



LEVITICUS IX. 9-16. 125 

poured out the blood at the foot of the altar. 10. And the 
fat and the kidneys and the caul from the liver of the sin- 
sacrifice he burned upon the altar, as the Lord commanded 
Moses. 11. And the flesh and the hide he burned with fire 
without the camp. 12. And he slew the burnt-sacrifice : and 
Aaron's sons handed unto him the blood, and he sprinkled 
it on the altar around. 13. And they handed to him the 
burnt-sacrifice in its pieces and the head ; and he burned them 
upon the altar. 14. And he washed the inwards and the legs, 
and burned them upon the burnt-sacrifice on the altar. 

15. And he presented the offering of the people ; and he 
took the goat of the sin-sacrifice which was for the people, and 
slew it, and he offered it for sin, as the first. 16. And he 

in iv. 1—12, but to expiate the sinful infirmity of the official, and fit 
him for the proper discharge of his functions. Hence the blood is not 
spattered on the veil and applied to the horns of the altar of incense 
(iv. 6, 7), but simply put upon the horns of the altar of burnt-sacrifice, 
as in the offering of the prince or one of the people (iv. 25, 30). The 
mode varies according to the circumstances, but- the meaning is the 
same. 10, 11. The sacrifice is made according to the rule laid down 
in chap. iv. As the Lord commanded Moses. This shows that the 
ritual canons of the first eight chapters were given before the pro- 
ceedings of the day. 12. The burnt-sacrifice representing the great 
propitiation is now briefly noticed. Handed? 2 actually placed in his 
hands. 13, 14. It is treated according to the rule. The offerings on 
the part of the priests now cease. They are merely preliminary. The 
day is not the day of the priests, but of the people. 

15-21. The offerings for the people. And he presented. The 
subject, not being expressed, is to be supplied according to the exi- 
gency of the occasion. In this case it may be some one acting for the 
people. The only case in which the priest is necessary as the subject 
is the last sentence, and he offered it for sin, as in vi. 19, made it an 
expiation for sin. 1 6. Here again the first sentence may have for its 
subject the representative of the people, the second must have the 



126 THE OPENING OF THE TABERNACLE SERVICE. 

presented the burnt-sacrifice, and he made it after the manner. 
17. And he presented the oblation and filled his hand from it 
and burned it upon the altar, besides the burnt-sacrifice of the 
morning. 18. And he slew the bullock and the ram, the 
sacrifice of peace which was for the people : and Aaron's sons 
handed the blood to him, and he sprinkled it on the altar 

priest. The burnt-sacrifice is offered according to the order prescribed 
in the ritual. It consisted (vs. 3) of a calf and a lamb. It is not stated 
whether the latter be the same as the lamb of the morning sacrifice. 
It is generally considered to be different. The offering is at all events 
made according to the usual canon. 17. The oblation. If this be 
the oblation mentioned in vs. 4 after the peace-offering, it is here 
transposed, and presented after the burnt-sacrifice. According to 
Num. xv. 3-11 such an oblation was invariably to accompany the 
burnt-sacrifice or peace-offering when the people were come into the 
land of their habitation. The same is to be done here in the wilder- 
ness on this extraordinary occasion. Besides the burnt-sacrifice} 1 
This may be understood in two ways. If the lamb prescribed be not 
the morning sacrifice, then the burnt-sacrifice is additional to the 
standing one of the morning. But several considerations are in favor 
of their identity. First, Aaron was now manifestly to act for the first 
time as duly constituted high-priest, and it seems incongruous that he 
should have offered a morning sacrifice beforehand. Secondly, this 
was manifestly the commencement of the national worship ; there 
cannot therefore have been a previous morning sacrifice distinct from 
this, as the latter would have been the real commencement. Thirdly, 
the erection of the tabernacle had to be completed on this morning, 
and this, though of trivial amount, would occupy some time. Fourthly, 
the manifest propriety of the initiatory sacrifice being kindled by the 
fire from God points the same way. And, lastly, the phrase " besides 
the burnt-sacrifice of the morning " is mostly simply explained to mean 
that the oblation already mentioned was in addition to the morning 
sacrifice on this special occasion, though it did not usually accompany 
it while the people were in the wilderness. 18. Tlie sacrifice of peace 
is now presented. After propitiation comes fellowship. This is fol- 



LEVITICUS IX. 18-22. 127 

around. 19. And the fat of the bullock, and of the ram, the 
tail, and that which covereth, and the kidneys, and the caul of 
the liver : 20. And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he 
burned the fat upon the altar. 21. And the breasts and the 
right leg Aaron made a waving before the Lord ; as Moses had 
commanded. 

22. And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people and 
blessed them ; and came down from making the sin-sacrifice 

lowed by a sacred feast upon the victim, and is therefore according to 
rule (vii. 12-14) accompanied with its oblation. Which was for the 
people. It is carefully noted that this is for the people, who are now 
in full and happy communion with their God. 19, 20. The fat of the 
bullock. This is first mentioned by itself in one word. And of the 
ram. Then follow the several parts which compose the fat of the 
ram. That which covereth. This is briefly put for the fat that lay as 
a lining over the inwards. The caul of the liver, usually the caul 
upon the liver. This whole verse is summed up by the single word 
'fat' in the next verse. 21. The breasts of the bullock and the ram. 
These belong to the Lord as his special part. And the right leg of 
each. This belongs to the officiating priest (Lev. vii. 34), as the 
former is awarded to the whole order. These are accordingly waved, 
but not burnt on the altar. As Moses had commanded. 21 Moses is as 
God unto Aaron (Ex. iv. 16). 

22-24. The blessing of the people and the acceptance of their 
offering. After the offering of the sacrifice of peace, at the close 
of the whole public sacrifice by which the tabernacle service was in- 
augurated, Aaron, while he was still on the landing at the altar, and 
therefore elevated above the people, lifted up his hands toward them 
and blessed them. The formula of benediction is first put on record 
in Num. vi. 22-27. It is there said to be delivered to Moses for the 
guidance of Aaron, and may have been communicated before the 
present very solemn occasion of using it. And came down from the 
landing on which he stood while ministering at the altar. (See i. 11.) 
The sacrifice of expiation, propitiation, and peace had been completed, 
and the blessing is pronounced as the natural consequence. As the 



128 THE OPENING OF THE TABERNACLE SERVICE. 

and the burnt-sacrifice and the peace-offering. 23. And Moses 
and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and came forth and 
blessed the people : and the glory of the Lord appeared to 
all the people. 24. And fire went forth from before the Lord, 

sacrifice lay on the altar unconsumed, this was a moment of intense 
emotion to the onlooking assembly who had been led to expect an 
extraordinary manifestation of the presence and glory of the Lord. 

23. Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. The con- 
secrator and the consecrated on this solemn occasion go together into 
the holy place. We are not here informed of the purpose for which 
they entered. But the general purpose is to be gathered from the 
design with which the tabernacle was constructed. " And I will meet 
with thee there, and speak with thee from above the mercy-seat (Ex. 
xxv. 22.) " When I will meet you to speak there unto thee. And 
there will I meet with the sons of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by 
my glory" (Ex. xxix. 42, 43). Meeting with God is holding com- 
munion with him. The interview of Moses with God is carried on 
by means of speech. " I will speak to thee of all that I command 
thee concerning the sons of Israel." And Moses speaks with God of 
all that he desires for the people (Ex. xxxiii. 7-23). This is no doubt 
the ground on which Moses and Aaron now enter the tabernacle. 
They go in to make intercession for the people on this great occasion. 
They ask for the acceptance of the people who have now approached 
the Lord their God for the first time under the new economy. More- 
over if, as we conceive, the morning sacrifice has now been offered, 
Moses and Aaron go in to burn incense on the golden altar and trim 
the lamps on the golden candlestick (Ex. xxx. 7, 8). This could not 
be omitted on this great day, and Moses could not but accompany 
Aaron on the first occasion of his officiating regularly within the taber- 
nacle. After making intercession they came forth, and once more 
blessed the people. When intercession has been made for them at 
the throne of grace, the benediction is no less appropriate. It is 
then added that the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 
A sudden burst of light in and over the tabernacle now appeared. 

24. And fire went forth. The manifestation of the divine glory is 



LEVITICUS IX. 24. 129 

and consumed upon the altar the burnt-sacrifice and the fat : 
and all the people saw, and they shouted, and fell upon their 
faces. 

attended with an issue of fire from the presence of the Lord'. This 
fire consumes the burnt-sacrifices and the fat of the other sacrifices 
and the handful of the oblation of flour and oil which had been all 
laid upon the altar. This is a conspicuous sign of acceptance, mirac- 
ulously given by God himself. The people take cognizance of the 
presence and power and grace of the Lord, shout with joy and thanks- 
giving, and fall down on their faces in trembling adoration. They 
had been, deservedly as they felt, rejected on account of the worship 
of the golden calf, as the sacred writer very plainly calls it, or the 
worship of Apis, which they had witnessed in Egypt. The tent of 
meeting had consequently been removed and pitched far from their 
camp. Moses had no doubt interceded for them, and prevailed with 
the Lord to pardon them. But now the new tent of meeting has been 
erected in the midst of them once more, and the appointed sacrifices 
have been offered for the first time by the newly instituted priesthood. 
These sacrifices have now been manifestly accepted by a miraculous 
sign from • the Lord ; and they themselves are thus fully restored 
to the divine favor. This was a gracious and fitting reception of the 
people on the first day of the new year, and in all probability coin- 
cides with the statement in Ex. xl. 34, 35, near the close of the account 
of the rearing up of the tabernacle. 

NOTES. 

4. Appeareth, i"i&p.5, is shown, literally as it is pointed, hath 
appeared. If this were intended by the Masoretes to refer to an 
event already past, there must have been two appearings on this day, 
one at the rearing of the tabernacle, and another on the blessing of 
the people at the close of the sacrificial service. If it be meant to 
refer to an event yet to come, it must be literally rendered " will have 
appeared," which apart from 1 copulative is not usual, MX^s would 
in this case be the easier reading, though the other is in keeping 
with the Hebrew style. The Sept.- and Vulg. give the future. 
17 



130 OTHER EVENTS OE THE OPENING SERVICE. 

7. Make, Frias , including all the priestly functions connected with 
sacrifice. 

12. Handed, Ki£»^ , cause to find ; more definite than S^p? , cause 
to approach. 

17. The explanation, following in the text, of this sacrifice, as iden- 
tical with the lamb of the prescribed burnt-sacrifice, simplifies the nar- 
rative and facilitates the conception of the possibilities of the scene. 
It also makes the appearance of the phrase in this place more natural. 
The statement that Aaron burned the various offerings on the altar 
(vs. 10, 13, 14, 17, 20), may simply mean that he laid them all on the 
altar as usual, when they were burned in due course of time by the 
fire kindled from heaven. 

21. Some MSS. have here, as the Lord commanded Moses. The 
meaning is to the same effect The variety of expression is in favor 
of the common reading. 



X. OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE. 

The last chapter, according to the manner of Moses, is brought to a 
close worthy of the occasion. But in this case he was enabled to do 
so only by stopping short of circumstances of a very shocking and 
humiliating character. The proceedings, which up to the very cul- 
minating point were so auspicious, were suddenly overcast by the 
shade of a direful catastrophe. This was the offering of strange fire 
by two of the sons of Aaron, instantly followed by a terrific outbreak 
of divine judgment upon them (1-7). This leads to a solemn and 
significant injunction laid on the priests to refrain from wine or strong 
drink when about to officiate in the holy place (8-11). The 
remainder of the chapter is occupied with directions and inquiries 
concerning the parts of the sacrifices which were not burned on 
the altar (12-20). After the sublime event and the high-strung 
enthusiasm of the former chapter we here sink down far below the 
ordinary level of human infirmity. We find ourselves walking on 
earth, amid the manifestations of a heart that is deceitful above all 
things and desperately wicked. The lessons we learn are salutary 
indeed, but inexpressibly sad. 



LEVITICUS X. 1, 2. 131 

X. 1. And Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, took each his 
censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense on it, and offered 
before the Lord strange fire, which he commanded them not. 
2. And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed 



1-7. The strange fire. 1. Nadab and Abihu. These were the 
eldest sons of Aaron (Ex. vi. 23 ; Num. Hi. 2). Took each his censer. 
We should be at a loss to imagine any shadow of a reason for this 
proceeding on the part of Nabab and Abihu, if it were not that the 
solemn sacrifice already described was the morning sacrifice enlarged 
in proportion to the occasion, after which Aaron, accompanied by 
Moses, went in with fire to kindle the incense on the golden altar. 
This solemn act of Moses and Aaron may have suggested to the two 
young men, who had taken a part in the sacrifices at the outer altar, 
the daring attempt to intrude into the holy place without any man- 
date or invitation. We cannot say what other influences contributed 
to their impious resolve, whether they took umbrage at being excluded 
from the tabernacle, or rashly imagined they were free to follow the 
steps of Moses and Aaron. And put fire therein, as they may have 
seen Moses and Aaron doing. And offered before the Lord. They 
were in the court on the way to the door of the tabernacle. They 
were therefore in the act of presenting the burning incense before the 
Lord. Strange fire. This is explained by the words following, 
" which he commanded them not." The fire is strange, because it 
differed from that prescribed by law, either in the men, the matter, 
the manner, or the time. It is therefore in one or more of these 
respects a thing not commanded, and consequently. forbidden ; and the 
presenting of it is an act of will-worship. It was moreover presump- 
tuous, when they knew that Moses and Aaron were called of God to 
regulate the whole service, while they themselves had received no 
such authority, and occupied only a subordinate place. What other 
unworthy motives were lurking in their mind, whether idolatrous or 
selfish, we are not informed, and it is bootless to conjecture. 2. And 
fire went forth. The very element of their sin is the element of their 
retributive punishment. From before the Lord. The presentation 
of the strange fire took place after Moses and Aaron came out of the 



132 OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE, 

them ; and they died before the Lord. 3. And Moses said 
unto Aaron, This is that which the Lord hath spoken, saying, 
I will be sanctified in those who come nigh me, and before 



tabernacle and before the eating of the oblation and certain parts of 
the sin-sacrifice and the peace-offering that had been made. There is 
nothing to forbid the supposition that it happened precisely after they 
had blessed the people on coming out of the holy place. In that case 
the very flashing forth of fire that consumed the victims may have at 
the same time struck those self-willed intruders, as they were drawing 
nigh to the door of the tabernacle. At any rate the one event must 
have been quite close upon the other : for the very next step of the 
procedure would have been the holy communion of the priests and 
the representatives of the people with God in the sacrificial feast. 
Thus on the same occasion the act of divinely appointed worship is 
solemnly accepted and the act of presumptuous will-worship instantly 
and sternly punished. And fire is strangely seen doing its twofold 
work of accepting and of destroying. And they died before the Lord. 
Death is the inevitable doom of presumptuous sin. 3. And Moses 
said unto Aaron. This was an agonizing moment ; yet Moses has 
presence of mind equal to the occasion. The whole past of his won- 
derful history prepared him for such a crisis. This is that which the 
Lord hath spoken. He feels that the eternal interests of the people 
of God are trembling in the balance. He will raise up his brother's mind 
above the concerns of his own heart to his transcendent relation to 
God and his people. The principle he announces is contained in the 
words of the Lord to himself, recorded in Ex. xix. 22. But it is here 
given by Moses as the Lord's present explanation of the judgment 
that had now been executed. / will be sanctified in those who come 
nigh me. I require exact compliance with my will in my attendants, 
and visit any wilful departure from it with prompt and condign 
punishment. The reasonableness of this is obvious. The ritual of 
worship which the Lord himself has instituted has an important 
and authoritative meaning, foreshadowing the divine purpose and plan 
of salvation. That which man devises is, in the nature of things, devoid 
of either significance or authority. Its inculcation is an arrogant 



LEVITICUS X. 3-5. 133 

all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron was mute. 

4. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel, 
Aaron's uncle ; and he said unto them, Draw nigh, take your 
brethren from before the sanctuary to the outside of the camp. 

5. And they drew nigh, and took them in their coats to the 
outside of the camp. 6. And Moses said unto Aaron and to 

assumption of the prerogative of God, and its practice a daring in- 
trusion into his presence without leave. And either is calculated to 
deceive, the on-looker to his eternal ruin. Hence it is added, before 
all the people I will be glorified. The further consideration that God 
is the Governor and Judge of all the world makes it an incumbent 
duty to execute retributive justice on the offender. There is more- 
over a peculiar importance in the phrase " those who come nigh me." 
Those who are in actual relation with God as confidential servants 
are vastly more blamable for acts of disobedience than those who do 
not hold such offices of trust, or those who stand in no close relation 
to him, when they commit similar acts of sin. But a still greater 
stress is to be laid on the gravity of their offence, when we pass from 
the type to that which is typified. The whole function of the priest was 
a figure of the real atonement for sin to be made by the great High- 
priest on behalf of the fallen race of man. A violation of this function 
was therefore a crime of the deepest die, as it was an annulling of the 
atonement for man. This alone is sufficient to account for the instant 
vindication of the divine holiness. And Aaron was mute. He bowed 
in humble submission to the judgments of God, and entirely acqui- 
esced in the explanation of Moses. 

4. Mishael and Elzaphan* (Ex. vi. 22). Tour brethren, taken in 
the wide sense of kinsmen : they were the sons of their cousin Aaron. 
From before the sanctuary. Hence they were struck down in the court 
on their way to the sanctuary. 5. And took them in their coats. 
From this we perceive that the fire by which they were killed was 
the lightning flash, which left their coats still comparatively uninjured. 
To the outside of the camp. The bodies and the priestly dress in 
which they were arrayed were desecrated by the presumptuous act 
of the deceased. Hence they are to be removed out of the sacred 



134 OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE. 

Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, Bare not your heads, nor 
rend your garments, lest ye die, and wrath fall upon all the 
assembly : and your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall 
bewail the burning which the Lokd hath kindled. 7. And ye 
shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting, lest ye 
die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And 
they did according to the word of Moses. If 

precinct. 6. Eleazar and Ithamar 6 are now associated with their 
father. Bare not your heads. Baring the head so that the hair 
might flow unkempt was an ancient and natural sign of grief. Rend- 
ing the garments was of similar import. The priests in their official 
capacity stood in higher and closer relation with God on the one hand, 
and with the whole people on the other, than with their own kindred. 
They are not therefore to disturb the complacence of God or the 
gratitude of the people by such outward displays of personal grief. 
The mitre or bonnet on their head and the coat on their body are 
sacred, and not to be violated : they are the outward symbols of their 
office, which is not to be interrupted by the minor concerns of private 
life. Lest ye die. The feeling of grief is not forbidden. But the 
frustrating of the vitally important functions they have to discharge 
by such outward acts is a grave offence that may be visited by instant 
death ; for it severs the bond of peace between God and man, and 
brings " wrath upon all the assembly." The whole house of Israel, 
however, is allowed to show the outward signs of grief for the judg- 
ment of " burning," both in its cause and consequences. This high 
mark of respect and sympathy was well fitted to soothe the sad hearts 
of Aaron and his surviving sons. 7. Te shall not go out, to take part 
in the burial of the deceased. The service of the sanctuary is of para- 
mount importance ; it is not to be interrupted by private occupations, 
and especially by the defiling concerns of the grave. The priests 
were not absolutely confined to the court of the tabernacle : they had 
to go out, for example, to burn the bodies of the sin-sacrifice, the blood 
of which was carried into the sanctuary, and doubtless on other nec- 
essary occasions. But no other occupation was to interfere with the 
functions of the sacred office. For the anointing oil of the Lord is 



LEVITICUS X. 8-11. 135 

8. And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, 9. Drink not 
wine nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye 
go into the tent of meeting, lest ye die : it is a statute forever 
unto your generations. 10. And to separate between the holy 
and the profane, and between the clean and the unclean. 11. 
And to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord 
hath spoken to them by the hand of Moses. ^[ 

upon you. This is the symbol of the spirit of life, and has no relation 
with the pageantry of death. It is the emblem of purity and must be 
kept free from the contamination of evil. It proclaims you to belong 
to the Lord, and does not permit you to engage in anything that 
would interfere with his claim upon your service. And they did. 
There is an unreserved compliance with this solemn injunction. 

8-11. Abstinence from stimulant drinks in the discharge of sacred 
functions enjoined. Spake unto Aaron. This is the first communica- 
tion made directly to Aaron. It takes place after his induction 
into office. Drink not wine, the juice of the grape usually fermented. 
Strong drink was made from the date or sap of the palm, and some- 
times also from a preparation of honey or barley. It was usually 
strengthened with spices (Hieron. Ep. ad Nepot.). These were intoxi- 
cating drinks. The propriety of the prohibition is obvious. The 
worship of God is an intelligent service (John iv. 24), and therefore 
requires a clear and collected mind; it is a holy exercise (xix. 2), 
and therefore demands a pure and undivided heart. This is therefore 
to be a perpetual statute for all generations. The occasion on which 
it is introduced leads to the surmise that Nadab and Abihu may have 
been under the influence of stimulants when they violated the sancti- 
ties of the worship of God. 10. 11. This rule serves two purposes: 
(1) It separates between the holy and the profane ; the clean and the 
unclean. The profane is the common, or that which is not devoted to 
the sanctuary. Uncleanness may befall either the holy or the profane. 
Abstinence during the worship of God from stimulating drinks, the use 
of which was allowed on ordinary occasions, made obvious the separation 
between the holy and the profane. (2) It teaches the people, deepens 
in their minds the memory and the meaning of the divine ordinances 
By the hand of Moses. By his agency. 



136 OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE. 

12. And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and 
Ithamar, his remaining sons. Take the oblation that remaineth 
of the fire-offerings of the Lord, and eat it sweet beside the 
altar ; for it is most holy. 13. And ye shall eat it in the holy 
place, for it is thy due and the due of thy sons out of the fire- 
offerings of the Lord : for so I am commanded. 14. And the 
wave-breast and the heave-leg shall ye eat in a clean place, 
thou and thy sons and thy daughters with thee : for they are 
given as thy due and the due of thy sons out of the sacri- 
fices of peace of the sons of Israel 15. The heave-leg and the 

12-20. The public service concluded. After this abrupt and awful 
interruption to the solemnity and exultation of the moment, Moses 
recalls the newly appointed priests to the completion of the sacrificial 
service. 12. Take the oblation. This is according to the rule vi. 9. 
That remaineth, after the memorial has been presented. Sweet, that 
is, without leaven. Beside the altar, in a covered space prepared for 
the purpose. 12 It is most holy. Everything that, if not eaten by the 
priests, would have been consumed on the altar as a fire-offering, is 
regarded as most holy. 13. Thy due, u thy portion, settled by statute. 
So I am commanded, Moses is eareful to intimate on all suitable 
occasions that his directions have the authority of God. The reitera- 
tion of this statement shows that he considers it of essential impor- 
tance. Nothing ceremonial is to be imposed or accepted that has not 
the stamp of heaven. 14. The wave-breast and the heave-leg. (See 
on vii. 28-36.) In a clean place. Here they are not limited to 
the court of the tabernacle, but only to a clean place. The whole 
family, male and female, are entitled to partake of these pieces. They 
are set apart for the priests from the sacrifice of peace, which includes 
the feast of fellowship wherein the worshippers participate. The 
Lord has the breast, the priests the right leg, including, of course, the 
shoulder, and the offerer and his friends the remainder. In this case 
the offerer is the assembly appearing by its representatives. This is 
therefore in reality a feast of communion between the Lord, the priest- 
hood, and the people. 15- Upon the fat the two pieces already men- 



LEVITICUS X. 15-17. 137 

wave-breast upon the fire-offerings of fat shall they bring, to 
make a waving before the Lord : and it shall belong to thee 
and to thy sons with thee by a statute forever ; as the Lord 
hath commanded. 16. And the kid of the sin-sacrifice Moses 
sought diligently, and behold it was burnt : and he was wroth 
with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, saying, 
17. Why have ye not eateji the sin-sacrifice in the holy place, 
for it is most holy ; and it he hath given you to bear the 

tioned are to be waved before the Lord. Heaving therefore seems 
to be regarded as a species of waving. Waving accords with fellow- 
ship. The fat is then consumed as a fire-offering on the altar, while 
the breast and the leg are to be eaten by the priests. 1 6. The present 
sin-sacrifice (ix. 3) being offered not for any special sin of the people, 
but as a preparative for the presentation of the burnt-sacrifice and 
peace-offering, is not a bullock, as in the former case (iv. 14), but a 
kid. And its blood is not taken into the sanctuary, and hence its flesh 
is not to be burned in the place of ashes (iv. 21), but eaten by the 
officiating priest (vi. 19). Moses sought it diligently for this purpose, 
but found it was burned in the customary place, without the camp. 
He was wroth, he expressed his displeasure to the sons of Aaron, 
either because he felt for Aaron and did not like to rebuke him, or 
because the sons took part in officiating and should have looked to this 
duty. 17. Why have ye not eaten. The flesh of the victim for sin 
should have been eaten in the holy place by the priests officiating 
(vi. 17). It hath he given you. The reason why it is most holy and 
why it is to be eaten by the priests is here assigned. To hear the 
iniquity of the worshipper, in this case, the whole assembly. The 
victim is to bear the iniquity of the assembly, and so are the priests. 
It is to be remembered that priest and victim are not two things, that 
on the other hand, the true Mediator is in himself both priest and 
victim. Hence it is quite intelligible to say that the priest bears the 
iniquity of the sinner for whom he makes expiation (Ex. xxviii. 38). 
To bear iniquity for another is to expiate. To atone for them before 
the Lord. The sin-sacrifice primarily expiates sin. But wherever 
there is expiation, there cannot but be satisfaction as its inseparable 
18 



138 OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE. 

iniquity of the assembly, to atone for them before the Lord. 
18. Behold its blood hath not been brought into the holy place 
within : ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I 
have commanded. 19. And Aaron spake unto Moses, Behold, 
to-day have they offered their sin-sacrifice and their burnt- 
accompaniment, and therefore full atonement. This propitiation is 
that which is properly signified by the priest burning the fat upon the 
altar and eating the flesh before the Lord. 18. Its blood has not been 
brought into the holy place within. 19 Hence, according to vi. 19, 22, 
23, it should have been eaten in the holy place. The law was clearly 
as Moses has stated. It was a matter of fact that the blood had not 
been spattered on the veil or put upon the horns of the golden altar ; 
and the flesh of the victim it was in that case ordinary for the priest 
that expiated with it to eat. 19. The sons of Aaron were probably 
abashed by the rebuke of Moses. At all events, they reply not, and 
Aaron speaks for them. To-day have they offered their sin-sacrifice 
and their burnt-sacrifice. The state of things seems to have been this. 
The sin-sacrifice of the priests was to be burnt on the ash-heap. That 
for the people might have been eaten by the officiating priest in token 
of the full acceptance of the people. But meanwhile the presumptuous 
offering of strange fire by two of those who had that day joined in a 
common sin and burnt sacrifice brought out the fire of vengeance upon 
the reckless transgressors. In these circumstances it was felt by 
Aaron that expiation should be prominent, and propitiation in the back- 
ground, as in the cases of the high-priest or the congregation sinning 
inadvertently (iv. 3, 13). Hence the kid was sent to be burnt without 
the camp as a type of the awful expiation required for sin. It is not 
to be supposed, however, that the eating of the sin-sacrifice was a feast 
of joy. Rather, was it a meal of solemn awe in view of the absolute 
holiness of God. Good in the eyes of the Lord. This does not mean, 
would it have been accepted ? Doubtless it would, seeing it was in 
strict accordance with the statute as understood by Moses. It rather 
means, would it have been in God's sight suitable under the circum- 
stances ? There were two ways of disposing of the flesh of the victim 
for sin, burning it in the clean place outside the camp, or eating it 



LEVITICUS X. 19, 20. 139 

sacrifice before the Lord, and such things befell me: and had 
I eaten the sin-sacrifice to-day, would it have been good in the 
eyes of the Lord ? 20. And Moses heard, and it was good in 
his eyes. If 

before the Lord in the holy place. As the blood was not brought 
within the sanctuary it was the right, and no doubt the first intention, 
of the officiating priests to eat the flesh. But a right to eat is not an 
obligation, if there be an alternative allowed. As in the peace-offering 
and the oblation accompanying it, that which was not eaten was to be 
burnt with fire (vii. 17 ; viii. 32), so Aaron might forego his right to 
eat, and burn the flesh in the usual manner. Meanwhile, therefore, 
when the avenging judgment of God came down upon his erring sons, 
his intention was altered. Deep sorrow and humiliation so unfitted 
his mind for the task, that he declined to exercise his right of eating 
the sin-victim, and hence he availed himself of the humbler alterna- 
tive, and sent it away to be burnt without the camp. This course 
commended itself as proper to Moses also, when the whole circum- 
stances were laid before him. This case is peculiarly interesting on this 
ground, that it shows a reasonable latitude in the application of .ritual 
canons to unexpected circumstances. It exhibits a certain freedom in 
the arrangement of the minor details, while the substance of the rules 
is still kept inviolate. It is one of the examples we occasionally meet, 
of a distinction being judiciously and honestly made between the letter 
and the spirit of a law. It does not therefore stand alone. A nota- 
ble instance has occurred to us in the consecration of the priests, where 
the spattering of them and their garments with the mingled oil and 
blood stands before the filling of hands in the specification (Ex. xxix. 
21), and after it in the execution (Lev. viii. 30). Practice must, in 
fact, vary somewhat; principle only is invariable. Figures, forms, 
types may and must vary, while the archetype, body, or substance to 
which they refer is one and the same. This principle deserves the 
attention of the interpreter. 

NOTES. 

1. Nadab and Abihu, Ktfria*^ , M, willing, and the Father himself. 
The former seems to express devotedness; the latter, all glory to 



140 OTHER EVENTS OF THE OPENING SERVICE. 

God. Significant names of children indicate the wishes and hopes of 
the parents. 

4. Mishael and Elzaphan, "J&xlpKn ^SAia^a , who is as God, and God 
protects, iww , God is might. 

6. ""ran^jO TOblJ, God kelps, and palm tree. 

12. Exedra (Hisc). 

13. Due, ph, statute, that which is determined by statute. 

18. Within, Fra^a, that which faces the entrant (Ges.), or that 
which is sequestered, secret, inmost (F.). 



SECTION III. — CLEANSING AND ATONEMENT. 



XL CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

This section of six chapters contains seven communications from 
the Lord : the first to Moses and Aaron for the people, concerning 
clean and unclean animals (chap, xi.) ; the second to Moses for the 
people, respecting birth (chap, xii.) ; the third to Moses and Aaron, 
about the discerning of leprosy, in chap. xiii. ; the fourth to Moses, con- 
cerning the cleansing of the leper ; the fifth to Moses and Aaron, 
about leprosy in a house, both in chap. xiv. ; the sixth to Moses and 
Aaron for the people, concerning issues, in chap. xv. ; and the seventh 
to Moses for Aaron, after the death of his two eldest sons, relating to 
the day of atonement, in chap. xvi. It is natural to suppose that the 
communications to Moses and Aaron in common were made after the 
consecration of Aaron. Of the three which were addressed to Moses 
alone, that concerning birth applied to married women, that on clean- 
sing referred to the leper, and that concerning entrance into the holy 
of holies applied to Aaron the high-priest. As Aaron had his sacer- 
dotal duties to perform, he was not present with Moses on all occasions 
when he had a communication from the Lord. The arrangements 
concerning cleansing naturally come after the consecration of the 
priests ; and the ordinance for entering into the holy of holies on the 
day of atonement, in chap, xvi., is historically connected with the pro- 
fane attempt of Nadab and Abihu to appear before the Lord with 
strange fire. 

In a salvation which restores entire fellowship between the sinner 
and his Maker whom he has offended, there are three essential and 
co-ordinate elements, pardon of sin, propitiation for sin, and purification 
from sin. The first needs, and perhaps admits of, no figurative repre- 
sentation. It comes forth in its unadorned simplicity from the mercy 
of God, that eternal mystery of the divine breast, that prime attribute 

141 



142 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

of revelation, that inexhaustible source of all the ways and means of 
salvation. The second, propitiation, is set forth in the manifold sym- 
bols of the sacrifice in the first seven chapters of this book. It is the 
nature of a reality to be one, constant, and self-consistent in all its 
evolutions ; but it is characteristic of its symbols to be diverse, variant, 
and inconsistent with one another in some of their qualities. Hence 
we have the burnt-sacrifice, the oblation, the peace-offering, the sin- 
sacrifice, and the trespass-offering, variously representative each of 
some prominent feature of one and the same propitiation. These 
symbols are a kind of prophecy, and therefore follow its general law 
in foreshadowing by their variety the diverse aspects of the same 
great event, while it is yet in the womb of futurity. This wondrous 
event is the propitiation for sin, which these sacrifices forebode, but 
do not accomplish. The third great requisite of salvation is moral or 
spiritual purification, which David calls the creation of a new heart, 
the renewal of a right spirit. Propitiation is external ; purification, 
internal. Propitiation tenders on behalf of the defaulter the full 
practice of all that the law demands ; purification re-establishes in the 
heart of the transgressor the living principle of the law itself. 

Propitiation and purification are in experience inseparably connec- 
ted. The Mediator propitiates by a full obedience and a full suffering 
unto death for disobedience : the Spirit of God purifies by presenting 
this propitiation to the unclouded and unveiled heart of the sinner, 
which thereupon becomes disabused, confiding, consenting, penitent, 
grateful, loving. Thus it may be said, in a worthy sense, that the 
propitiation cleanses, because it is the instrument by which the Spirit 
begets repentance in the soul. The word is said to purify, because it 
tells of propitiation ; it is the gospel of reconciliation. The blood is 
said to cleanse, because it expiates and, in conjunction with the moral 
perfection of the true victim, propitiates, and the conception and ac- 
ceptance by the soul of this atonement stirs the very depths of the resus- 
citated affections. If the Spirit of God were to lift the veil from the 
human heart without presenting to view the gospel of pardon and 
propitiation, a far different tide of emotions would overwhelm the 
soul. From the immutably holy God and a guilty self the dark 
inference would be the doom of perpetual death. The indescribable 
horror of despair would brood over the conscience. But when the 



LEVITICUS XI. 143 

Spirit not only removes the veil but at the same time holds out mercy, 
proffers pardon, and above all announces propitiation, the dawn of 
hope rises on the mind, the wonder of a nascent faith swells the breast 
and the rising emotions of repentance towards God indicate the new 
birth of the soul. This clearly shows that propitiation made for man 
is the instrument by which the Spirit begets the soul anew unto 
sanctification of life. We may conceive in the abstract propitiation 
apart from purification. But propitiation without application would 
be a mere play of the practical faculty without a purpose and without 
a heart. We cannot, however, conceive purification brought about 
without the glad tidings of propitiation, unless we will call the despair 
of self-condemnation by such a name. Thus, propitiation without 
purification as an effect is conceivable ; but purification without 
propitiation as a cause or concause, is not conceivable. 

The first seven chapters of this book set forth propitiation in type 
and shadow. The next three record the consecration of the pro- 
pitiator in a like sense. The next five lay all animated nature under 
tribute to illustrate the distinction between the clean and the unclean, 
and evoke the notion of moral purification. And these are followed 
by a chapter which describes the grand crowning act of propitiation 
in its essential and effective bearing upon the cleansing of the soul. 
This chapter is therefore of transcendent importance, because it points 
to propitiation as the instrumental cause, in the hands of the Spirit, of 
sanctification, and thus determines the ground of the intimate relation 
subsisting between them. It thus forms the connecting link between 
the seven chapters of propitiation and the five chapters of purification, 
between which are naturally inserted the three chapters on the con- 
secration of the priests. Hence these sixteen chapters form a compact, 
logical whole, and constitute the first part of the Book of Leviticus. 

The eleventh chapter distinguishes the clean from the unclean 
among cattle (1-8) ; among fish (9-12) ; among fowl (13-25) ; among 
wild beast (26-28) ; and among creeping things (29-38). It declares 
unclean the carcass of an animal that has died a natural death, though 
it were clean when living, and eatable when slain (39, 40), and then 
returns to other classes of creeping things (41-43). It lays down 
the general principle that God's people should be holy, which lies at 
the ground of these formal distinctions (44, 45), and sums up the 
whole matter in two concluding verses (46, 47). 



144 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

XI. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying 
unto them, 2. Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, This is 
the beast that ye shall eat of all the cattle which are upon the 
earth. 3. All that parte th the hoof and hath the cleft of the 
cloofs, that raiseth up the cud among the cattle, that shall ye 

1-8. The cattle. 1. Unto Moses and Aaron. Aaron has now been 
consecrated. He has already received one communication directly 
from God (x. 8). And he is henceforth associated with Moses in 
the reception of some divine instructions. It is meet that he should 
understand the distinction between the clean and the unclean. 2. 
Speak unto the sons of Israel It is necessary that the people also 
should be acquainted with these regulations which were to be carried 
out in their daily life. The beast. This is the generic term for 
animals. It is employed here in a collective sense, to denote the 
several kinds of cattle, or larger gentle animals, which are familiar 
to man. 3. All that parteth the hoof, 3 in which there is a visible 
division of the hoof into two parts. And hath the cleft of the cloofs, 3 
in which the division is not merely on the surface, but beneath 
it, so that the hoof is severed into cloofs, as in the cow or sheep. 
That raiseth 3 or bringeth up the cud. This is more general than 
what is now technically understood by ruminating or chewing the cud. 
The latter is restricted to animals called ruminants, which have a 
fourfold stomach, into one bag of which the imperfectly masticated 
food enters, passes into the second, where it takes the form of moist 
pellets, and then rises into the mouth to be perfectly masticated. 
This last process alone is regarded in the expression of the text ; and 
this occurs partially with some animals that have not the fourfold 
stomach, as the hare and the kangaroo. That shall ye eat. The ani- 
mals so distinguished are counted as clean and fit for food. The dis- 
tinction here made is simply ceremonial. It may have some ground 
in nature which it is competent for the physiologist to investigate and 
ascertain. But it does not at all rest on the "vanity" and " corruption " 
into which the creation has sunk in consequence of the fall of man 
(Keil), inasmuch as this is universal, and therefore affords no ground 
of distinction among things into clean and unclean. 



LEVITICUS XL 4-9. 145 

eat. 4. Only this ye shall not eat, of those that raise up the 
cud or part the hoof: the camel, because it raiseth up the cud 
but parte th not the hoof, it is unclean to you. 5. And the 
coney, because it raiseth up the cud but parteth not the hoof, 
it is unclean to you. 6. And the hare, because it raiseth the 
cud but parteth not the hoof, it is unclean to you. 7. And 
the hog, because it parteth the hoof and cleaveth the hoof, 
but raiseth not the cud, it is unclean to you. 8. Of their flesh 
shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch : they 
are unclean to you. 

9. This shall ye eat of all that is in the water, all that hath 
fin and scale in the water ; in the seas and in the rivers, this 
shall ye eat. 10. And all that hath not fin nor scale in the 
seas and in the rivers, of all that move in the water, and of all 
living things which are in the water, they shall be loathsome 
to you. 11. They shall even be loathsome to you ; of their 



4—8. Certain animals having one of these qualities and wanting 
another are excluded from the class of the clean and the allowable for 
food. The camel, 4 because it does not part the hoof, though it chews 
the cud. 5. The coney. 5 This is another name for the rabbit. It 
is, however, believed by many to be the hyrax, a pachyderm inter- 
mediate between the rhinoceros and the tapir, resembling the rabbit, 
but smaller, and of a dull russet color (Dr. Thomson). The term 
"coney," being* more familiar to us, is retained in the translation. 
6. The hare 6 and the coney agree in bringing up the cud, but do not 
part the hoof. They are not what are technically called ruminants, 
as they have not the fourth stomach, and hence the legislator excludes 
them. 7. TJie hog ' has cloofs, but in strictness there are four of them, 
instead of two. It is not, therefore, of the normal class, and it does 
not chew the cud. It was avoided as food by many of the ancients, 
on account of its uncleanliness. 8. Their carcass. The dead body 
of any of them ye shall not touch. It conveys uncleanness. 

9-12. The natives of the water. The fish that has fins and scales 9 
19 



146 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass ye shall loathe. 12. 
All that hath not fin nor scale in the water, that shall be 
loathsome to you. 

13. And these of the fowl ye shall loathe ; they shall not be 
eaten, they are loathsome : the eagle and the ospray and the 
sea-eagle ; 14. And the vulture and the kite after its kind ; 
15. Every raven after its kind ; 16. And the ostrich and the 

may be eaten. Other aquatic animals, whether fish properly so called, 
or not, are to be an object of loathing. Hence all amphibious reptiles, 
molluscs, crustaceans, annelids, echinoderms, and acalephs are excluded. 
In the seas and in the rivers. The same test applies to fresh-water 
and to salt-water fish. Those without fins and scales have their uses ; 
but they are to be loathsome to the taste or the touch. 

13-25. Those that wing their way in the air. These ye shall 

loathe. The exceptions are here set down. The rest are suitable or 
allowable for food. Twenty species are here forbidden. The eagle 13 
is well known. It is the king of birds. It hunts and slays for itself, 
but occasionally preys upon fresh carrion. The ospray} 3 This is the 
ossifrage, or gypatus barbatus, the lammer-geier of the Swiss, the aquila 
ossifraga of the Romans. The name ospray or ossifragus is derived from 
the supposition that it let its prey fall from a great height on the rocks 
to break its bones (Plin. Nat. Hist. xxx. 7). The sea eagle, 13 pandion 
haliaetus, called also the fish-hawk. It subsists on fish, on which it 
pounces with incredible velocity. 14. The vulture. 1 * The vulture 
has the head and part of the neck destitute of feathers, is weak in the 
talons and strong in the beak, is of a cowardly nature, and usually 
feeds upon carrion. The vultures are the scavengers of the land, and 
form a very numerous tribe. Tlie hite. u This rapacious bird is 
placed by Linnaeus under the genus falco. It has a forked tail and 
long wings, a short and weak beak and leg, and hence it is the most 
cowardly of all birds of prey. It seizes upon small quadrupeds, birds, 
and chickens. 15. Every raven. 15 This is of the genus corvus. It 
flies high, scents carrion afar, and feeds not only on this, but on seeds, 
fruit, and small animals. Hence it is troublesome to the farmer. It 
is mentioned as early as Gen. viii. 7. 16. The ostrich.™ This is 



LEVITICUS XL 16-18. 147 

night-hawk and the gull and the hawk after its kind ; 17. 
The owl and the cormorant and the ibis ; 18. And the coot 



literally the daughter of the ostrich, according to the custom in the 
East, of using the words " father," " mother," " son," " daughter," to 
denote analogous relations of the most general kind. It includes both 
sexes, though feminine in form. This is the largest of fowls, being 
four feet from the ground to the back, and seven or eight to the crown 
of the head. It exceeds in running the swiftness of the horse. It is 
negligent of its nest. It feeds on seeds and plants, and probably 
lizards, snakes, and young birds. It swallows indiscriminately almost 
anything, even stones or glass. It has a doleful howl. Hence its 
name has been rendered daughter of screeching. The night-hawk}* 
This is a bird of the night, common to Egypt and Syria. It feeds on 
insects, but has been called the goat-sucker, and accused of entering 
at an open window and sucking the blood of infants, without any 
warrant. Tlie gull. 16 This is of the genus larus, frequents the shores 
in all latitudes, and is a great devourer of fish. It may include the 
tern. The hawk. This is of the genus falco. Most of the species 
are rapacious, feeding on birds and other small animals. It abounds 
in Western Asia and Egypt. 17. The owl. The genus strix flies 
chiefly in the night, and feeds on small mammalia, little birds, and 
insects. It is common to all countries, but chiefly abounds in cold 
climates. The cormorant 17 the sea-raven, a large fowl of the pelican 
kind, feeds on fish, and is very voracious. It is found in the old and 
new hemispheres. The ibis. This is one of the grallae, or wading 
birds. Cuvier has proved that it is a kind of curlew. It feeds on 
shell-fish, and it is said on serpents. It frequents Egypt and Arabia. 
18. The coot. 18 This bird is called the porphyrion, or purple bird, 
its color being that of indigo mingled with red. It frequents marshes, 
stands on one leg, and holds its prey in the claws of the other. It is 
found in the" Levant and the islands of the Mediterranean. It was 
an object of idolatry, and kept tame in the vicinity of the temples. 
The pelican 18 is remarkable for an enormous bill, and in the under 
chap a pouch capable of holding many quarts. Here it deposits the 
fish it has caught, and with these feeds its young, of which it is very 



148 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

and the pelican and the gier-eagle ; 19. And the stork, the 
heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat. 

20. All winged creepers, that go on all four, shall be loath- 
some to you. 21. Only this ye may eat of all winged creepers, 
that go on all four, that hath legs above its feet to hop withal 
upon the earth. 22. These of them ye may eat, the locust after 

fond. It is found in all quarters of the globe. The gier-eagle} 9 This 
is the vultur percnopterus, commonly called Pharaoh's chicken. It 
visits Palestine in the summer, and feeds on carrion. 19. The stork 19 
is of the heron tribe, feeds on fish, reptiles, worms, and insects, is found 
in Europe, Africa, and Western Asia, and on the New Continent. It 
is noted for its harmless disposition and its attachment to its young. 
It builds on the roofs of houses, and is familiar with man. The 
heron. 19 The genus ardea is a great devourer of fish, and is found all 
over the world. The hoopoe 19 is of the genus upupa, has a beautiful 
crest variously waving, feeds on insects, worms, and snails, and is 
found in Egypt and Palestine. The bat 19 belongs to the class vesper- 
tiliOy has a membrane between the fingers or claws which enables it 
to fly, reposes during the day, and hibernates during the winter, and 
preys by night on insects. The vampire bat, which is found in 
Southern Asia, makes a small wound in the toe of the sleeper, out of 
which it sucks blood till it sometimes causes death. The smaller bat 
is found in Palestine. The bat is the natural transition from the fowl 
proper to the winged creeper. 

20-25. The winged creepers. 20. Winged creepers or swarmers 
are so called from their minuteness and their multitude. That go on 
all four. They crawl on the ground with four feet. These are to 
be avoided as loathsome. 21. That hath legs above its feet. This 
describes an excepted class that may be eaten. With these legs they 
are able to hop on the ground. They are specified in the next verse. 
22. The four classes of edible locusts are here enumerated. We 
cannot distinguish these classes otherwise than by the meaning of 
their names. The locusts, 22 see on Ex. x. 4, where the species is men- 
tioned. It is named so from its multiplying or being gregarious. 
The gulperr 2 This is a mere translation of the name. The hopper. 22 



LEVITICUS XI. 22-29. 149 

its kind, and the gulper after its kind, and the hopper after its 
kind, and the cricket after its kind. 23. And every winged 
creeper, which hath four feet, shall be loathsome unto you. 
24. And for these ye shall be unclean ; all that touch their 
carcass shall be unclean until the even. 25 And whosoever 
taketh up aught of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be 
unclean until the even. 

26. All cattle that part the hoof and have not the cleft nor 
raise the cud, these are unclean to you ; every one that touch- 
eth them shall be unclean. 27. And whatsoever walketh upon 
its paws among all animals that walk on all four, they are 
unclean unto you ; every one that toucheth their carcass shall 
be unclean until the even. 28. And he that taketh up their 
carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even : 
they are unclean to you. § 

29. And this shall be unclean to you, among the creepers 
that creep on the earth, the weasel and the mouse and the 

The same remark applies to this term. This is variously rendered 
cutter or leaper. The cricket. 22 These names denote, not certain 
stages of the one locust, but, according to the text, certain kinds of 
this large tribe. 23. Winged creeper which hath four feet. All of 
this class are unclean. He that touches them shall wash his clothes 
and be unclean until the evening. 

26-28. Other larger land animals. 26. Gentle animals that part 
the hoof, but do not divide it into cloofs nor bring up the cud, are here 
for the first time enumerated. They are placed here because in the 
-view of the legislator they are closely allied to those comprehended in 
the following verses. 27. Whatsoever walketh upon its paws. The 
paw is the sole of the foot unprotected by a hoof. Cats, dogs, and 
most of the wild or ferocious animals come under this head. Toucheth 
the carcass. To touch the living body of an animal of this kind did 
not necessarily produce defilement. But the dead body is defiling. 

29-38. Creeping things. 29. The weasel a is common in Europe, 



150 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

lizard after its kind. 30. And the gecko and the skink and 
the newt and the stellion and the chameleon. 31. These are 
unclean to you among all creepers ; all that touch their carcass 
shall be unclean until the even. 32. And everything on which 
any of them when dead falls shall be unclean ; every vessel of 
wood or raiment or skin or sack, whatever vessel it be wherein 
work is done, it shall be put into, water and be unclean until 
the even, and then be clean. 33. And every earthen vessel 
whereinto any of them falleth, all that is in it shall be unclean, 
and it ye shall break. 34. All food which may be eaten upon 

Asia, and America, feeds on mice, rats, moles, and small birds. The 
mouse, P- This is not the jerboa (Boch.), but the field-mouse, which 
is very destructive to grain. The lizard.™ This word occurs only 
here in this sense. The lizards are a very numerous class in the 
East. This is perhaps the dabb of the Arabs which bears the same 
name. 30. The gecko " is found in the East, is of a reddish-grey color, 
spotted with brown, feeds on insects, and utters a croak or groan 
somewhat like a frog. The skink 30 is the waran el-hard, the varanus 
arenarius, the land-lizard of Herodotus. It abounds in the deserts 
of Arabia. It sometimes reaches six feet in length. It feeds on 
insects. The newt w is a species of salamander. It is called the triton 
cristatus, and dwells in Europe and Western Asia. The salaman- 
ders border on the lizards and frogs. The stellion 30 is noted for bow- 
ing the head. Hence the Mahometans kill it, because it mimics their 
motion in prayer. It is common in Palestine, and infests the pyra- 
mids. The chameleon. 80 This is a kind of lizard, having four feet and 
on each five toes, arranged two against three. It is of a bluish-grey 
color in the shade, and of a tawny color in the sun. Its changes of 
color are ascribed by some to its capacious lungs and by others to 
a double layer of pigment. It lives on insects, and is a native of Asia 
and Africa. 31. Contact with these defiles. 32. That on which any 
part of their carcass falls shall pass through water and be unclean 
until the evening. 33. And the earthen vessel shall be broken, be- 
cause being porous it is liable to absorb the defilement, so that it could 



LEVITICUS XI. 34-41. 151 

which water cometh shall be unclean ; and all drink that may 
be drunk in any vessel shall be unclean. 35. And everything 
on which part of their carcass falleth shall be unclean ; oven 
or pot, it shall be broken ; they are unclean ; and they shall 
be unclean to you. 36. Only a spring and a well, a gathering 
of water, shall be clean ; and that which toucheth their carcass 
shall be unclean. 37. And when part of their carcass falleth 
on any sowing-seed which is to be sown it shall be clean. a8. 
And when water is put on the seed and part of their carcass 
falleth upon it it shall be unclean to you. § 

39. And when any of the cattle, which ye may have for food, 
dieth, he that toucheth its carcass shall be unclean until the 
even. 40. And he that eateth of its carcass shall wash his 
clothes and be unclean until the even ; and he that beareth its 
carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even. 
41. And every creeper that creepeth on the earth is loath- 

not be removed by washing. 34. The food on which it falls, if pre- 
pared with water, shall be unclean, and likewise the drink, because 
the impurity pervades the fluid, or that which is steeped in it. If dry, 
that part of the food may be removed which was in contact with the 
unclean thing. 35. The vessel on which it falls shall be unclean. 
Oven or pot. These are earthenware. The pot consists of two parts, 
a dish and a lid, and hence it is in the dual number. These shall be 
broken; for they are unclean, and you are so to regard and treat 
them. 36. A well or pool of water, which is continually purifying 
itself by overflowing or precipitation, is to be regarded as clean. But 
the portion that is in contact with the carcass is unclean. 37. Dry 
sowing-seed is not so defiled or rendered unfit for sowing. 38. But 
if it be soaked in water it is unclean. 

39-45. Concluding regulations. 39. He that touches the carcass 
of a clean animal that has died a natural death shall be unclean until 
the evening. 40. He that eats of it or carries of it shall be unclean. 
It is to be presumed that the former partook of this defiling fare un- 
wittingly. 41. All creepers are loathsome, and are not to be eaten. 



152 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

some : it shall not be eaten. 42. All that goeth on the belly 
and all that goeth on all four, with all that hath many 
feet of all creepers that creep on the earth, ye shall not eat 
them, for they are loathsome. 43. Ye shall not make your 
souls loathsome with any creeper that creepeth, nor shall ye 
defile yourselves with them nor be defiled with them. 44. For 
I am the Lord your God, and ye shall sanctify yourselves, and 

42. So are all that go on the belly, as serpents and worms, all that 
go on four feet among the small animals, as rats and mice, and all 
that have many feet, that is, more than four, including various kinds 
of insects. 43. Your souls, that is, your living bodies, your persons, 
yourselves. Loathsome, objects of religious abhorrence. Defile your- 
selves nor be defiled. The repetition is emphatic. The former 

intimates some degree of activity in getting oneself defiled. 44. The 
transcendent reason for avoiding impurity is now assigned. For lam 
the Lord your God. I am holy. And ye who are to be in fellowship 
with me must be holy. This reason lifts us up above all ceremonial 
purity to that spiritual purity of which the former is merely the 
shadow. The aim of this laborious chapter now at length stands 
before the mind. It awakens and sharpens the sense of the distinc- 
tion between the clean and the unclean in material things, and thus 
prepares for a keen and unerring sense of the difference between right 
and wrong, between moral good and evil. The distinction between 
animals as clean and unclean is mainly ceremonial. In their own 
line all things are pure ; every creature of God is good in itself and 
for its proper end. Only in a typical sense and in a certain relation to 
man is there a distinction of things into clean and unclean. And only 
when we come to man do we meet with a moral nature, and, to our 
blame and shame, with moral defilement. The shunning of ceremo- 
niah impurity calls forth and exercises the sense of moral distinctions. 
But it is not merely the distinction of clean and unclean that is taught 
in this chapter. This might be a mere intellectual exercise of no 
moral significance. We now see the point of the word loathing or 
loathsome when it is so often repeated. Were it not that instinct 
awakens in us an abhorrence of most of the unclean animals mentioned, 



LEVITICUS XI. 42-44. 153 

ye shall be holy, for I am holy: and ye shall not defile your 
souls with any creeper that creepeth on the earth. 45. For I 

and of the carcass of a dead animal, we might think it strange that we 
'should be required not merely to avoid, but to loathe such objects. 
But when we rise to moral questions we find that right and wrong, 
good and evil, rest on self-evident principles. And hence when reason 
distinguishes between right and wrong, conscience inevitably approves 
of the right and abhors the wrong. This alone brings out the full 
force and point of the loathing which we are so frequently called upon 
to feel toward that which is unclean. This loathing becomes even 
more intensified by contrast. When the Lord reveals himself to the 
sinful soul as merciful and gracious, penitence and purity of heart 
come to the birth. This involves a peculiar loathing of sin on the 
one hand, and a growing love of holiness on the other. All this is 
summed up in that evangelical watchword, " I am the Lord your God," 
which has met us so often and cheered us so much in the reading of 
the Old Testament. It is the opening sentence of the ten words 
spoken from Sinai. He who addresses us is God, the only absolutely 
and eternally Almighty ; thy God having come to thee with the in- 
vitation of mercy, and having made thee willing by his Spirit to accept 
the invitation, and become his as he has become yours ; the Lord 
thy God, the Self-existent, the Author of all that exists, the Keeper 
of covenant, and Performer of promise is thy God. Nothing can 
transcend this. And ye shall sanctify yourselves. The gospel con- 
tained in the above words will sanctify you so far as word or truth 
or deed can do it. If by this gospel, explicitly or implicitly, ye be 
not softened, shamed, drawn to God, sanctified, there is no instrument 
by which you can be sanctified. Ye shall he holy, for I am holy. 
Another fundamental principle. After the image of God man was 
made. After his image, if renewed at all, he must be renewed. This 
sentence finds its multiplied echo reverberating through the Old and 
the New Testament. And ye shall not defile your souls with any creep- 
ing thing. A descent, and yet not a descent, but a uniform carrying 
out of the one great principle into all the details of a moral life. 45. 
The great God of mercy and grace raises up the heart of the people 
once more to the principle of the gospel, and recalls to their mind the 



154 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 

am the Lord that brought you up from the land of Mizraim to 
be your God : and ye shall be holy, for I am holy. 

46. This is the law of the cattle and of the fowl and of every 
living thing that moveth in the water, with every thing that 
creepeth on the earth. 47. To separate between the unclean 
and the clean ; and between the beast that may be eaten and 
the beast that may not be eaten. IT IT IT 

grandest practical illustration of it within their experience, namely, 
the deliverance from the land of bondage. 

46, 47. The recapitulation. This is the law, the doctrine or disci- 
pline concerning every kind of living creature. To separate or dis- 
tinguish between two things, first between the clean and the unclean, 
and next between that which may be eaten and that which may not. 
After the key we have received to the bearing and import of this 
chapter, it is impossible for us to rest in the mere natural or ceremo- 
nial significance of these words. They have undoubtedly also a moral 
meaning. In this their widest and truest meaning they divide all 
morality into two parts, our duty to others and our duty to ourselves. 
When we distinguish between the morally clean and unclean we 
learn what is right and good towards our God and towards our neigh- 
bors, and what is the contrary. When we distinguish between what 
is to be eaten and what is not, we learn by a striking example what 
is to be enjoyed and what is not to be enjoyed, what is allowable and 
what is not, what is the lawful gratification of the appetite and what 
the unlawful, even in things allowable. In a word, we have before us 
the two great branches of scriptural and rational morals — justice and 
temperance. The former has been more or less illustrated and enforced ; 
the latter has been most culpably and ruinously neglected. They 
stand upon a par in Scripture. This is not the place to treat of them 
at length. 

NOTES. 

3. Parting the hoof, iiD*nB ncnfitt . Having the cleft of the cloofs, 
nb^3 sbtjj tWbW . The old word cloof serves to express the meaning 
of the plural noun here. liaising the cua\ frta fftsja. ^t^ * s ^at 
which is sawn, crushed, chewed. 



LEVITICUS XI. 155 



4. Camel, boa, the strong, complete, or fully grown; r. 
ripen. No animal is more obviously or completely fitted for its place. 
Its padded feet and its stomach having an arrangement for containing 
a store of water for many days are among its prominent adaptations 
for the desert. It is a native of Arabia and is a most serviceable help 
to the Bedawin. 

5. Coney, "j&ttj, burrowing (Ges.) gnawing (F.), Saowov? (Sept.) ; a 
quadruped living gregariously among rocks (Ps. civ. 18; Prov. xxx. 
26), the hyrax, jerboa (Ges.), rabbit or the like. Elsewhere only 
in Deut. xiv. 7. 

6. Hare, T$$& sssfiSigH , leaper, runner, ^oipoypvAXios ; r. 331 or 33K , 
go before, hasten. Only here and in Deut. xiv. 7. 

7. Hog, 'vtn, turning, or strong; r. turn, wind, be strong, vs. It 
occurs seven times in Scripture. 

9. Fin, "fMp; r. C]?D, move, wave, row. Scale, ntojstog, itftop, 
peel, scale. 

13. Eagle, ittjjj, tearer, dcrds. It pounces suddenly upon its prey 
(Hab. i. 8), moults its feathers annually (Is.a. xl. 31 ; Ps. ciii. 5), 
makes its nest on the crag (Job xxxix. 27), takes great care of its 
young (Deut. xxxii. 11), and lives long (Ezek. i. 10). Ospray, 0^3, 
breaking, severing, ypvif/. Only here and in Deut. xiv. 12. Sea- 
eagle, n*3TS , strong or keen-sighted, dAuueros. 

14. Vulture, ftN'-j, rushing, rapid, yv\p. Only here. In Deut. fWn. 
Kite, h^K , said to be so named from its cry, i» , Iktwos. Also in 
Deut. xiv. 13 and Job xxviii. 7. It is keen-sighted. Here it is 
regarded as a genus. 

15. Raven, yys , dark-colored, Kopa£. 

16. Ostrich, nas>*irj-n2, daughter of screeching, moaning, crrpov$6<s. 
Night-hawk, fc^riF), bird of violence, y\avi. Also in Deut. xiv. 15. 
Gull, SjrilB, lean, Adpos. Also in Deut. xiv. 15. Hawk, fi, swift in 
flight. Also in Deut. xiv. 15 and Job xxxix. 26. 

17. Owl, Di3 , having a cup or pouch, vvktik6pcl£. Bochart takes 
it to be the pelican or cormorant. It is mentioned in Deut. xiv. 16 
and Ps. cii. 7. Cormorant, fljjig , casting itself down from high rocks 
to pounce upon fish, KarapaKT^. Also in Deut. xiv. 17. Ibis, J$8J£, 
blowing like a horn, i/fe, the Egyptian heron, inhabiting marshy places 
(Deut. xiv. 16; Isa. xxxiv. 11). 



156 PURIFICATION OF WOMEN. 

18. Coot, tTDttjpFi, 7rop<J>vpi(Dv. The same word occurs with a different 
meaning in vs. 30. Fuerst makes it a kind of owl. Also in Deut. 
xiv. 1 6. Pelican, nxjD , vomiting, 7reAeKav. It is variously rendered 
by the Sept. pelican, gannet, chameleon, and bird. Also in Deut. xiv. 
17; Ps. cii. 7; Isa. xxxi. 11; Zeph. ii. 11. Gier-eagle, torn, affec- 
tionate, kvkvos and c7roi//. Also in Deut xiv. 17. 

19. Stork, irfypfs, affectionate to its young, ipwScos, hoij/. Also in 
Deut. xiv. 18; Ps. civ. 17; Jer. viii. 7 ; Zech. v. 9. Heron, h&a$, 
irascible. The xapaSptos of the Sept. is supposed to be the plover, 
lapwing, or curlew. Also in Deut. xiv. 18. Hoopoe, MB^TO , has been 
analyzed into KEpS TO or 'rjTO , coc£, or master of the rock, hroty. Also 
in Deut. xi. 18. Bat, cfeo?., said to be compounded of t)3 ba2, c?ar£- 
flying, vvKtepCs. Also in Deut. xiv. 18 and Isa. ii. 20. 

22. Locust, tta-i!*, multiplier, gryllus gregarius, browser (S'ni* F.). 
BpoG^os is said to be a locust without wings. The present word occurs 
about twenty-four times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Gulper, Ds&O. 
ATTa/07? is said to be a small kind of grasshopper without wings. 
Only here. Hopper, blnn , leaper, 6^>to/x,d^?. Only here. Cricket, 
Djn, cutter (F.), coverer (Ges.), leaper. It occurs five times. 

29. Weasel, l\h , gliding, digging, ya\rj. Only here. Mouse, 123?, 
nimble, p,v<s. It occurs five times elsewhere, 1 Sam. vi. ; Isa. lxvi.. 17. 
Lizard, 2X , slow, K/ooKo'SetA.0? xepomos, the land-lizard. The dabb is 
eighteen inches long, and is frequent in the desert. 

80. Gecko, n|33$, groaning, pivydXr], shrew-mouse. Only here in 
this sense. Skink, nb, strength, ^a/xatXeW. Only here in this sense. 
Newt, HJ<mV , hiding, do-KaAa/koT???, wall-climber. Only here. Stellion, 
xydn , bowing down, o-avpa. Chameleon, wgttJS&i , breathing. \A.o-7rdAa£ 
of the Sept. means a mole. Some pronounce it a salamander. 



XII. PURIFICATION OF WOMEN. 

This chapter contains a regulation concerning mothers. It is 
addressed to Moses, by him to be communicated to the sons of Israel. 
It may therefore have been revealed before the erection of the taber- 
nacle or the consecration of the priests. It is now arranged in its 
proper place under the head of purification. The chapter contains 



LEVITICUS XII. 1-3. 157 

XII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel, saying, when a woman conceiveth and 
beareth a male, then she shall be unclean seven days, as in 
the days of the separation of her infirmity shall she be unclean. 
3. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be cir- 

two parts : the first determining the time of seclusion on account of 
child-birth 1-5 ; the second prescribing the sacrifices to be offered 
when purification is completed 6-8. 

1-5. The period of seclusion after child-bearing. 2. When a 
woman conceiveth, 2 is fruitful, yields seed. Beareth a male. This 
defines the sex of her seed. She shall be unclean seven days. Impurity 
is here connected with child-bearing. There can be no ground for 
this but the fall of man, in consequence of which the child is born in 
sin. The seven days are here a complete period. As in the days of 
the separation of her infirmity. Her infirmity is her monthly sickness. 
The separation is the state of seclusion in which she is kept in con- 
sequence of her uncleanness. This uncleanness also lasts seven days, 
as we learn from Lev. xv. 19. This is only another instance of the 
moral defilement connected with descent from fallen parents. 3. And 
in the eighth day. The infant is reckoned with the mother until the 
eighth day. As the mother and the father are members of the com- 
munity of Israel, the child is in this respect also counted with them. 
On these grounds he receives the sign of circumcision. The origin 
and meaning of this rite we have in Gen. xvii. It is the symbol of 
moral renewal. It therefore implies the existence of depravity. But 
the mother in Israel having passed through her ceremonial defilement 
is now clean, and her child is clean with her. As the descendant of 
fallen man, he has the inheritance of original sin and must lie under 
the condemnation of the race. As the descendant of a circumcised 
father he has the inheritance of circumcision, the outward token of the 
covenant of grace. This involves the principle that in the right order 
of things the offspring of pious parents will be pious. It cannot mean 
that circumcision is itself regeneration. This would be to make a 
rite a charm, instead of a symbol of precious truth. As the mother, 
so the child becomes ceremonially clean, after the seven days have 



158 PURIFICATION OF WOMEN. 

cumcised. 4. And thirty and three days shall she sit in her 
blood of purifying ; she shall not touch any holy thing, nor 
come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be 
fulfilled. 5. And if she bear a female, then she shall be un- 
clean two weeks as in her separation ; and sixty and six days 
shall she sit in her blood of purifying. 

elapsed ; and, therefore, on the eighth day the rite of circumcision is 
performed. 4. Thirty and three days. These, with the previous 
seven, make the period of forty days, which is one of the perfect 
numbers in Scripture, and indicates a thorough purification. Shall 
she sit, abide in her house, being indeed clean and associating with 
her family, but not taking part in any public duties of religion. 
In her blood of purifying. This is the discharge of blood by which 
nature is relieved, the system purified, and the health restored. Hence 
it is called the blood of purifying. While it flows she is regarded as 
in some respect unclean, and after it ceases she is clean. The seven 
days and the thirty-three days have some relation to the lochia rubra, 
which may continue about a week, and the lochia alba which may 
continue a considerable time after. But the numbers mainly refer to 
the formal and typical character of this uncleanness, which points to 
the moral depravity connected with and conveyed by birth in a fallen 
race. Not touch any holy thing. This indicates the typical nature 
of this uncleanness ; since only moral defilement can occasion real 
impurity or exclude from the communion of God. Nor come into the 
sanctuary. This shows that females were admitted into the sanctuary 
as worshippers on the same footing with males. 5. If she bear a 
female. This case is treated distinctly from the former. The period 
of uncleanness is double, and so is that of seclusion. Though the 
ancients, as we learn from Aristotle (Hist. an. 6, 22 ; 7. 3) and Hippo- 
crates were of opinion that the flux continued longer after the birth 
of a girl than of a boy, yet the difference of time, if any, must be quite 
inconsiderable, and cannot account for these double numbers. The 
only ground that can be assigned for this difference is the historical 
fact of the woman being first in the transgression. This difference 
between male and female, as well as some others, is done away in the 



LEVITICUS XH. 5,6. 159 

6. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled for a 
son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year 
for a burnt-sacrifice and a pigeon or a dove for a sin-sacrifice 



Messiah, who is born of a virgin. In all births, however, purity and 
communion are recovered at the end of a short period, and so mercy 
mingles faith and hope with the remnant of corruption in all those 
who have entered into willing covenant with the God of all grace. 

6-8. The sacrifices after purification. There is nothing said here 
of washing, as that is treated of in chap. xv. When the days of her 
purifying are fulfilled. The purification is quite distinct from the 
propitiation. It is accomplished before the sacrifice that denotes pro- 
pitiation is presented. For a son or for a daughter, that is, on account 
of the birth of either. The mother is unclean, and with her the 
helpless child, until the week or fortnight is completed. Then both 
are clean, and on the eighth day the son is circumcised. After the 
period of seclusion has elapsed the mother comes forth to present 
herself and child before the Lord. A lamb. This is the burnt sac- 
rifice. As the ceremonial defilement indicates sin as the inheritance 
of a fallen race, the burnt-sacrifice represents the propitiation for sin 
which avails for every penitent, confiding child of God. The sin- 
sacrifice speaks of expiation for any inadvertent sin of which the 
mother may have been guilty. Hence these sacrifices express on the 
part of the offerer confession of sin, appeal for mercy, reliance on the 
Mediator, and thankfulness for the goodness of God to the mother 
and the child in temporal, but above all in spiritual, things. The 
message of mercy and mediation, which these divinely appointed 
sacrifices convey, transcends all mere earthly deliverance. It would 
be an occasion of insufferable distress to a mother to bring forth a 
child with the tendency and under the doom of sin. Hence to her 
there is a new and unspeakably precious significance and blessing in 
the burnt-sacrifice and the sin-sacrifice that tell of propitiation and of 
expiation, not only for herself but for her offspring. She enters with 
all the earnestness and cheerfulness of hope upon the task of training 
up her child for God, believing with all confidence that as there is 
an atonement, so there will be a new birth by which her child will 



160 PUEIFICATION OF WOMEN. 

unto the door of the tent of meeting to the priest : 7. And 
he shall offer it before the Lord and atone for her, and she 
shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. This is the 
law of her that beareth a male or a female. 8. And if her 
hand find not enough for a lamb, then she shall take two 

become a child of God and an heir of life. The purification now 
becomes doubly interesting to her, as the earnest as well as the emblem 
of the spiritual purification of her child, when faith in God and re- 
pentance towards him will indicate that out of the death of sin has 
sprung the new life of a heart cleansed by the Spirit. 7. And atone 
for her. Being a mother, she has a new life given to her. This is 
of a sinful nature. But there is a propitiation for sin and a great 
High Priest. She humbly accepts the glad tidings and lays hold of 
the Saviour. Her heart that was bowed down under the burden 
of sin is lifted up again. And shall be cleansed. She is now declared 
or pronounced clean. The process of purification has come to an end, 
betokening the coming of the sinner with the whole heart's consent to 
the God of salvation. The act of propitiation, represented by the 
sacrifice offered, is now made available for the acceptance of the 
believing mother and her child. This is the law, the instruction or 
regulation suitable to the mother who has brought into being another 
individual of the fallen race of man. 8. And if her hand find not. 
Yet merciful consideration for the poor adds as an appendix, that a 
dove or a pigeon may be substituted for the lamb as a burnt-sacrifice. 
This met the case of Mary the mother of the Messiah himself 
(Luke ii. 24). 

No event is more interesting to the parent or to the race than the 
birth of a child. In a state of innocence it would have been a source 
of unmingled and unutterable gladness. On the part of the parents 
it was the nearest approach possible to a new creation ; and in regard 
to the race it was another unit added to the fellowship of holiness and 
happiness. And the whole outward scene of diversified activity and 
enjoyment was made for man, not man for the outward scene. Hence 
the birth of man transcends in importance the whole growth and 
development of animate and inanimate nature. But above all, man is 



LEVITICUS XII. 161 

doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt-sacrifice and one for a 
sin-sacrifice ; and the priest shall atone for her and she shall 
be clean. TT 

made after the image and in the likeness and for the fellowship of 
his Maker, and on this ground he has dominion over the earth and 
all that it contains. Another child of such a race is another source 
of good to man and glory to God. But the fall casts a shade of im- 
penetrable darkness over the birth of a child of man. All that reason 
can say is, that this is another child of sin and heir of death. The 
thoughtful husband and wife may well hesitate to become the parents 
of an offspring having such a bent and such a doom. This single 
consideration justifies the insertion of this short and reassuring chapter 
in the book of propitiation. The mother in Israel is here taught that 
while there is impurity and guilt connected with the bearer and the 
born of the fallen race, yet there is a propitiation on which she may 
rely for herself and for her offspring, and a purification which she has 
for herself and may ask and confidently expect for her child, while 
she trains him up in the way he should go. This lifts the believing 
parents out of the gulf of despair, and encourages them to enter upon 
the hopeful task of training up their child for glory, honor, and immor- 
tality. As the mother and her child emerge out of the impurity, she 
learns to hope for the day when both will emerge out of the bondage 
and corruption of sin ; as the child is circumcised on the eighth day 
the confiding parents pray and wait and watch and work for the cir- 
cumcision of the heart, which is hopefully foreshadowed by the out- 
ward rite: as the mother offers her burnt-sacrifice and sin-sacrifice 
she rejoices in the knowledge that there is a propitiation that is suffi- 
cient for her and for her children and for her children's children to 
all generations. This chapter could not be wanting in the book of 
atonement ; and assuredly it has not been written in vain. 

NOTE. 

2. S^ttt, yieldeth seed, as in Gen. i. 11. 
21 



162 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 



Xm. THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 



This is the third communication in this section. It is made to 
Moses and Aaron in common, and was therefore, no doubt, given after 
the consecration of the priests. It concerns the priests, whose duty 
it was to examine and pronounce upon cases of leprosy. Two kinds 
of leprosy are described in this chapter; that of the human body 
(1-46), and that of a garment (47-59). A third kind is brought 
forward in the next chapter (33-48), that of a house. This is a nota- 
ble instance of the wider and more popular meaning of many Hebrew 
terms than that of any representatives they have in our modern 
tongues. With us the leprosy is a disease peculiar to man, and 
having nothing corresponding to it in any other department of nature. 
But the Hebrew word which we render leprosy designates also accord- 
ing to native usage an unhealthy state of a garment or of the surface 
of a wall. The leprosy seems to be a native of Egypt, but is found in 
Syria, Palestine, and Arabia, and rarely in other countries. It was re- 
ported by Manetho, and repeated by Strabo, Tacitus, Justin, and other 
ancient writers, that the Israelites brought this disease into Egypt. 
But the fact is precisely the reverse. Israel came into Egypt as a 
family consisting of seventy souls, and when they left it, two hundred 
and ten years after, some of them were probably infected with it, and 
carried it with them out of that country. It is not a merely cutaneous 
disease. It penetrates the whole system, and often lurks a long time 
unseen before it comes to the surface. It is a disease of the most viru- 
lent kind, and nearly, if not altogether incurable. It is moreover infec- 
tious in the highest degree. It appears in several forms, as the black 
leprosy, the white leprosy, and the non-contagious leprosy. "The 
black had dark brown spots. The white is characterized by blanched 
skin, white hair, the drying up of the juices of the body, and the decay 
■of one member after another " (Duns, Bib. Nat. Sci. p. 98). This is 
the kind of leprosy to which reference is here made. It is still preva- 
lent in the East. Descriptions of it may be found in Robinson and 
other travellers in the East. Four <cases are here described. 

1-8. First case. 2. In the slcin of his flesh. The disease is only 
noticed when it comes to the surface or becomes cutaneous. A rising, 2 



LEVITICUS XIII. 2-4. 163 

XIII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, 
2. When a man hath in the skin of his flesh a rising, scab, or 
blotch, and it is in the skin of his flesh a plague of leprosy, 
then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one 
of his sons the priests ; 3. And the priest shall look on the 
plague in the skin of the flesh, and the hair in the plague is 
turned white, and the look of the plague is deeper than the 
skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy ; and the priest shall 
look on him and pronounce him unclean. 4. And if the 
blotch be white in the skin of his flesh, and its look not deeper 
than the skin, and its hair not turned white, then the priest 

a raised spot. Scab, 2 scurf or tetter breaking out. Blotch 2 a bleached 
or whitish spot. A plague. This is to be taken as a stroke, attack, 
or touch of the disease. In this sense we have no term more suitable. 
Leprosy. 2 This is usually explained as a stroke or scourge.; but it 
probably means a breaking out or rough swelling. This tallies with 
the Greek term adopted into our language, the scaly disease. Unto 
Aaron, or unto one of his sons. The ordinary priest was thus compe- 
tent to make the diagnosis. 3. The two obvious signs of leprosy are 
the hair turned white and the plague being deeper than the skin. 
The hair is usually dark in the East. This is therefore a striking 
mark. The second sign means either that the surface of the spot 
affected is lower than the rest of the skin, or that the disease is deeper 
than the skin. Observers inform us that the patch of skin diseased is 
raised above the rest, though hollow in the middle, while the border 
around is reddish or inflamed. The second meaning: therefore seems 
the more probable. Pronounce him unclean? When these decisive 
marks appear the priest is to pronounce him unclean. The declara- 
tion does not make him unclean : the existing uncleanness gives occa- 
sion for the declaration. 4-6. The blotch. The peculiarity of the 
blotch is its white or bright color. This excites attention. But if on 
examination the characteristic symptoms of the hair turned white 
and the appearance deeper than the skin are absent, the priest is 
directed to shut him up for seven days. Shut up the plague. Some 



1^4 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

shall shut up the plague seven days. 5. And the priest shall 
look upon it the seventh day, and behold the plague is at a 
stay in his sight and spreadeth not in the skin, then the priest 
shall shut him up seven days again. 6. And the priest shall 
look on it the seventh day again, and behold the plague fadeth 
and spreadeth not in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce 
him clean ; it is a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be 
clean. 7. But if the scab do spread in the skin, after he hath 
been seen by the priest for his cleansing, then he shall be seen 
again by the priest. 8. And the priest shall see, and behold 
the scab hath spread in the skin ; then the priest shall pro- 
nounce him unclean ; it is leprosy. J[f 

have suggested that to shut up the plague is merely to bind it up, as in 
Gen. ii. 21. But the passage referred to is not a case of binding with a 
bandage, but of closing up an opening. And in vs. 26 the pronoun 
"him "refers not to the blotch, which in the original is feminine, but to 
the person affected with it. Hence to shut up the plague simply means 
to shut up him who has the plague. 5. If on re-examination the plague 
has not spread, but is at a stay, the priest is to shut him up other seven 
days. The period of seven days is nearly that in which the process 
of nature completes itself. A second seven days will usually afford 
time for signs of improvement to appear, if the process of healing 
have commenced. 6. If at the end of a fortnight the affection is 
manifestly giving way, and not spreading, it is but a scab 6 or scurf, 
and the captive is pronounced clean, and released. He is to wash his 
clothes, and be clean. 7, 8. But if after he has been inspected in 
order to be pronounced clean, the scab begin to spread, he is to be 
inspected again. The presumption is the charitable one, that the 
patient is free from the contaminating malady. He is therefore 
inspected in order, if possible, to be pronounced clean. If, how- 
ever, even after he has past the priest's inspection, symptoms of an 
unfavorable kind appear, he is to be inspected again. If the signs 
of the disease are palpable he is to be pronounced unclean and 
leprous. 



LEVITICUS XIII. 9-15. 165 

9. When a plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be 
brought to the priest. 10. And the priest shall look, and 
behold a white rising in the skin, and it hath turned the hair 
white, and quick flesh liveth in the rising. 11. It is an old 
leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce 
him unclean ; he shall not shut him up, because he is unclean. 

12. But if the leprosy do burst forth in the skin, and cover 
the whole skin of the plague from his head to his feet, in all 
the sight of the priest's eyes, 13. Then the priest shall look, 
and behold the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, and he shall 
pronounce the plague clean : he is turned all white ; he is 
clean. 14. But when quick flesh appeareth in him, he shall 
be unclean. 15. And the priest shall see the quick flesh and 
pronounce him unclean ; the quick flesh is unclean ; it is 

9-17. The second case. The reappearance of an old leprosy. 
9. When a plague of leprosy is in a man. This assumes the existence 
of the disease. He is to be brought to the priest, as usual, for inspec- 
tion. 10. A white rising. This is accompanied with two other marks. 
The hair white. This indicates the depth of the disease. Quick flesh 
liveth in the rising. This is literally a quickening of the flesh which 
liveth in the rising. It denotes flesh that pushes forth without any 
skin over it. 11. This is a bad symptom. It indicates an old leprosy, 
a sleeping, latent, lingering form of the malady breaking forth with 
fresh violence. The patient does not require to be remanded for 
future examination. He is unclean. 12. Do burst forth, as a bud or 
blossom from the stem. And cover the whole shin of the plague^ from 
head to foot, so that no quick flesh can be discovered by the closest 
inspection of the priest. The skin of the plague means the skin that 
has the plague, and the skin implies the man that has the plague. 

13. In this alternative the scurf of disease has covered the whole body 
and is ready to dry up and fall oft, leaving a whole skin behind. The 
man is really healed. He is to be pronounced clean. He is turned all 
white, and is clean. 14, 15. But if any quick flesh appear he is still 
under the influence of the disease. The quick flesh is a decisive 



1(36 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

leprosy. 16. Or if the quick flesh return and change into 
white, then he shall come to the priest; 17. And the priest 
shall see him, and behold the plague is turned white ; and the 
priest shall pronounce the plague clean ; he is clean. ^[ 

18. And when there is in the skin of the flesh a boil, and it 
is healed, 19. And there is in the place of the boil a white 
rising or a reddish-white blotch ; and it is shown to the priest ; 
20. And the priest shall see, and behold its look is lower than 
the skin and its hair is turned white, and the priest shall pro- 
nounce him unclean ; it is a plague of leprosy ; it hath burst 
forth in the boil. 21. But if the priest see it, and behold the 
hair in it is not white, and it is not lower than the skin, and it 
fadeth away, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. 
22. And if it do spread in the skin, then the priest shall pro- 
nounce him unclean ; it is a plague. 23. But if the blotch 

symptom, and he must be pronounced unclean. 16, 17. If, however, 
the quick flesh turn from red to white, and thus become a dry scab or 
scale, as before, the priest shall pronounce him clean. 

18-23. The third case. The scar of a boil. 18. In the shin of the 
flesh a boil. 18 A boil or blotch such as was inflicted on the Egyptians 
in the sixth plague (Ex. ix. 9). And it is healed. The process of 
healing has begun. 19. In the place of the boil, which is still tender 
and susceptible of canker. A reddish-white blotch. A white rising 
has been already noticed. The blotch is called reddish- white because 
the redness of inflammation appears on the margin of the white. 20. 
The symptoms of disease are the same as before: it looks deeper 
than the skin and the hair is turned white. It hath burst forth in the 
boil. It effloresces from the seat of the boil. The part that is already 
weakened by disease is more exposed to the attack of the contagious 
virus. 21. If the symptoms, however, do not make their appearance, 
and the irritation is fading away, the patient is to be secluded seven 
days for after examination. 22. If on further examination it is found 
to be spreading, it is a leprous attack. 23. But if not, it is the scar 2 * 
of the boil. He is to be pronounced clean. 



LEVITICUS Xin. 24-29. 167 

stay in its place and spread not, it is the scar of the boil; 
and the priest shall pronounce him clean. § 

24. Or when there is in the skin of his flesh a burn from fire, 
and the healing of the burn hath become a blotch, reddish- 
white or white ; 25. And the priest shall see it, and behold 
the hair is turned white in the blotch, and its look is deeper 
than the skin ; it is leprosy, it hath burst forth in the burn : 
the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of 
leprosy. 26. But if the priest see it, and behold the hair is 
not white in the blotch, and it is not lower than the skin, and 
it fades away, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. 
27. And the priest shall see him the seventh day ; if it do 
spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him un- 
clean ; it is a plague of leprosy. 28. But if the blotch stay 
in its place, spread not in the skin, and fade away, it is the 
rising of a burn ; and the priest shall pronounce him clean ; 
for it is the scar of a burn. ^f 

29. When there is a plague in a man or a woman, in the 

24-28. The fourth case. The scar of a burn. This bears a con- 
siderable resemblance to the preceding case. 24. A burn 2 * from fire, 
a wound caused by fire. The healing of the burn, literally, the revival 
or recovery of the burn. Reddish-white or white. The scar of the 
burn has become white with or without the redness of inflammation. 
25. When the usual signs of the disease are present, the priest has no 
other course but to pronounce him unclean. 26. If not, he is to be 
remanded, as usual, for further examination. 27. If on the seventh 
day it appears to have spread in the skin, it is leprosy. 28. But if it 
have not spread, but is manifestly fading, it is merely the residue of 
the burn, and he is to be pronounced clean. 

29-37. The head or chin. These parts require a special regulation, 
because they are liable to other failings which may be mistaken for 
leprosy. 29. In a man or a woman. This shows that the skin and 
not the hair is intended in either case, inasmuch as the chin of the 



168 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

head or the chin, 30. And the priest shall see the plague, 
and behold its look is deeper than the skin, and in it is yellow 
thin hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean ; it is 
a scall, it is a leprosy of the head or the chin. 31. And when 
the priest seeth the plague of the scall, and behold its look is 
not deeper than the skin, and the hair is not yellow in it, then 
the priest shall shut up the plague of the scall seven days. 
32. And the priest shall see the plague on the seventh day, 
and behold the scall hath not spread and there is no yellow 
hair in it, and the look of the scall is not deeper than the 
skin, 33. Then he shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not 
shave ; and the priest shall shut up the scall seven days again. 
34. And the priest shall see the scall on the seventh day, and 
behold the scall hath not spread in the skin, and its look is not 
deeper than the skin ; then the priest shall pronounce him 
clean, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35. But if 

female is not usually covered with hair. 30. The marks in this case 
correspond with former cases, except in the color of the hair. The 
yellowness and thinness of the hair is a new specialty. The yellow is 
a golden-red, or fox color. The thinness is an index of disease. A 
scall 80 or scurf is the special name of this form of disease. A leprosy 
This form of disease seems distinct from the specific malady to which 
we attach the name. It is another instance of the generic application 
of the Hebrew original. 31. If the symptoms of leprous disease be 
wanting, the person affected is to be shut up for seven days. Yellow. 31 
The word usually rendered " dark " stands here in the original. But 
the Sept. gives what must, from the context, be the correct reading. 
Compare the thirty-second and thirty-seventh verses. 32. Hath not 
spread. This is always an important criterion, and decisive even in 
the absence of the change of color in the hair. 33. The head is then 
to be shaven, with the exception of the scall itself. 34. After seven 
days more, if, on examination, there be no spreading nor deepening, 
then the patient shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35. After his 



LEVITICUS XIH. 35-40. 169 

the scall do spread in the skin after his cleansing, 36. And the 
priest see him and behold the scall hath spread in the skin, the 
priest shall not seek for yellow hair : he is unclean. 37. But 
if in his sight the scall be at a stay, and black hair groweth in 
it, the scall is healed, he is clean ; and the priest shall pro- 
nounce him clean. § 

38. And if a man or woman have in the skin of their flesh 
blotches, white blotches. 39. And the priest see, and behold 
in the skin of their flesh are blotches fading white ; it is 
alphos, it hath burst out in the skin ; he is clean. § 

40. And when a man's head is peeled, he is hind-bald ; he 

cleansing. The priest's sentence is merely declarative. It has no 
effect on the physical state of the body. Neither is it final. New 
symptons demand anew diagnosis. 36. If, even after his purification, 
the eruption begins to spread, no other symptoms need be looked for 
by the priest. It is manifest that in this case the spreading or not 
spreading is the sole criterion. 37. The appearance of black hair 
growing in a scall that does not spread is a sign of health ; and the 
patient is to be pronounced clean. 

38, 39. The non-contagious leprosy. Blotches. This is mentioned 
in vs. 2 as a matter for examination. White. This shows that there 
is no very decided indication of color in the previous word. 39. 
Fading. A dim or wan white, ready to vanish away, appears to be 
designated by this term. It is alphos.™ This is a convenient word 
instead of the phrase, " non-contagious leprosy." It is also called leuce 
from its white color. It is still known among the Arabs by a name 
slightly varied from the Hebrew bahdk. It is a roughness on the 
skin with pale spots, causes little inconvenience, and disappears usually 
in the course of a year or two. In medical science it is called lepra, 
a scaliness, though quite distinct from the ordinary leprosy of the 
East. It is not a cause of uncleanness. 

40-46. Leprosy in the bald head. When a man's head is peeled y 
stript of the hair by natural decay. Hind-bald.™ This is used in 
contradistinction to the baldness mentioned in the next verse. Bald- 
22 



170 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

is clean. 41. And if his head be peeled toward his face, he 
is fore-bald ; he is clean. 42. But when there is in the hind 
or fore baldness a reddish-white plague, it is leprosy bursting 
forth in his hind or fore baldness. 43. And the priest shall 
see him, and behold the rising of a reddish-white plague in 
his hind or fore baldness, like the look of leprosy in the skin 
of the flesh. 44. He is a leprous man, he is unclean : the 
priest shall surely pronounce him unclean ; his plague is in his 
head. 45. And the leper in whom is the plague shall have 
his clothes rent and his head bare, and shall cover his beard, 
and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46. All the days that the 

ness does not defile. 41. Peeled toward his face, from the border or 
margin of the face. Fore-bald, or front-bald, having lost the hair 
of the forehead. Neither does this of itself cause uncleanness. 42. 
A reddish-white plague. This has been described before in vs. 19. 
A plague here means as usual a spot smitten. 43. Like the look of 
leprosy, resembling some of the forms of leprosy in other parts of the 
body. 44. On examination this is pronounced to be leprosy. The turn- 
ing of the hair white is not noticed, because the hair is gone. 45. The 
leper being unclean communicates not only uncleanness, but a highly 
infectious and incurable disease. He is therefore bound by law to 
make his state known by signs that cannot- be mistaken. His clothes 
rent. This was usually done by rending the outer garment from the 
neck to the girdle. His head bare. See on x. 6. The turban was 
either removed or, at all events, the hair allowed to hang in loose 
disorder. Cover his beard. The beard was considered an ornament 
to a man, and to violate it was one of the greatest insults. To cover 
the beard is among the signs of mourning (Ezek. xxiv. 17). These 
three signs do not distinguish the leper from the ordinary mourner. 
But he is moreover to cry, " Unclean, unclean," so that all may be 
warned not to approach him. 46. The leper, as unclean, is to be 
completely isolated. He is to dwell alone outside the camp. This 
arrangement has reference to the desert life. A settled mode of life 
in the land of promise required a change in this regulation. At a still 



LEVITICUS XIH. 45-47. 171 

plague on him shall be unclean, he is unclean; he shall dwell 
alone ; without the camp shall be his dwelling. 

47. And when the plague of leprosy is in a garment, either 



later period lazarettos were erected outside the cities for the separate 
residence of lepers. This dreadful disease is hereditary ; it is also 
communicated by contact, and even by dwelling together ; and in its 
proper forms is incapable of cure. After lurking in the system it 
appears at length in the skin, goes through its inevitable process, 
causes fingers and toes and other limbs to fall off, while the mutilated 
part heals without any application, and, if congenital, terminates life 
in about fifty years. If acquired by infection it usually causes death 
in about twenty years. The sufferer may not endure much pain ; but 
he is a wretched and loathsome object. And the parent leaves the 
child an equally miserable abject from society. Even on sanitary 
grounds these regulations of Moses were excellent and indispensable. 
But this is a mere collateral result. It is manifest that these pro- 
visions are in no sense medical. They do not contemplate the cure, 
though they certainly check the spread of this fell and fatal malady. 
They do not in any way interfere with medical practice or science. 
They are at bottom purely ceremonial in their aim. While subserving 
the purpose of guarding bodily health from external danger in a wise 
and efficient manner, they are directly intended to determine the con- 
ditions of ceremonial purity, and to sequester the clean from all 
contact with that which is unclean. This is the main ground on 
which the subsequent directions in this chapter rest. 

47-59. This second part of the present chapter relates to the 
leprosy of a garment. 47. A woollen garment or a linen garment. In 
this verse we have only woollen and linen garments mentioned. These 
were the materials for ordinary wear, the one from the animal, the 
other from the vegetable world. In the Old World wool was the chief 
material of clothing in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece ; Italy, 
and Spain ; hemp in the northern countries of Europe, and flax in 
Egypt. The Israelites having come out of Egypt were familiar with 
flax. Cotton was a native of India, and silk of China. Cotton, if 
imported into Egypt at this early period, was a rare commodity. As 



172 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

ia a woollen garment or a linen garment ; 48. Either in warp 
or woof of linen or wool ; or in skin or in anything made of 
skin ; 49. And the plague is greenish or reddish in the gar- 
ment or in the skin, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any 
article of skin, it is a plague of leprosy ; and it shall be shown 

a vegetable product it would be popularly classed under linen. Sack- 
cloth and tent-cloth were made of the hair of the goat and the camel. 
48. Warp or woof. This may re^er to the yarns designed for the 
warping reel or the shuttle before or after the process of weaving. 
In the latter case the cause of the decay in the garment, whether it 
arise from defect in the stuff or the ravages of the moth, may have 
had its seat in either the warp or the woof before they were in- 
terwoven. Or in skin. This was applied to the purposes of dress, 
either as a whole or as the material of some work of art. Sandals 
and girdles were among the parts of dress made of leather. 49. 
Greenish or reddish. The sources of discoloration or decay in woven 
or leather fabrics may be animal, vegetable, or mineral, of which the 
moth, the mildew, and the rust, may be regarded as the familiar 
forms. They attack animal as well as vegetable products. It is well 
known how much injury is done to wheat, fruit trees, and other plants, 
by the spores of various parasitical fungi that come under the general 
head of mildew, and there is no reason why they should not attack 
the manufactured article as well as the growing plant. " Minute fungi 
appear as spots in garments. These soon spread and infect the in- 
tervening parts. They vary in color from white to yellow, green, 
blue, red, and black" (Duns, Bib. Nat. Hist. 107). The moth is no 
less destructive. Five species of this are described by Linnaeus, 
called Tinea Vestionella, T. tapetzella, T. pellionella. Laverna sarci- 
tilla, and Galleria mellonella, engaged respectively in preying upon 
garments, tapestry, skins, wool, and bees' wax. The dermestidae are 
so called from devouring skins. Beetles attack wool, fur, and old 
shoes. Ironmould is a familiar example of a stain caused by a chemi- 
cal process. It is obvious that linen is not only bleached, but may be 
dyed, discolored, deteriorated, and destroyed by the chemical action of 
various minerals. Besides all this there are natural forms of decay 



LEVITICUS XIII. 49-57. 173 

to the priest. 50. And the priest shall see the plague, and 
shall shut up the plague seven days. 51. And he shall see the 
plague on the seventh day; that the plague hath spread in 
the garment either in the warp or in the woof, or in the skin, 
in whatever may be made of the skin for use, the plague is a 
fretting leprosy ; it is unclean. 52. And he shall burn the 
garment or the warp or woof in wool or in linen, or any article 
of skin in which the plague may be ; because it is a fretting 
leprosy, it shall be burned in the fire. 53. And if the priest 
look, and behold the plague is not spread in the garment, 
either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin ; 
54. Then the priest shall command, and they shall wash that 
in which the plague is ; and he shall shut it up seven days 
again. 55. And the priest shall look, after the plague hath 
been washed, and behold the plague hath not changed its look 
and the plague is not spread, it is unclean : thou shalt burn 
it in the fire ; it is a fray in its back or in its front. 56. And 
if the priest look, and behold the plague has faded, after being 
washed, then he shall tear it from the garment or from the 
skin, or from the warp or from the woof. 57. And if it appear 

by which all organic matter is finally decomposed and reduced to the 
elements out of which it was formed. 50, 51. The spreading of the 
plague is the chief sign of the garment leprosy. A fretting 51 leprosy, 
raw, sore, not healing, but corroding, and hence permanent or perse- 
vering, as in the Sept. and the Vulg. This is the effect of the mildew 
or the moth. 52. Such a piece of dress is to be burned. 53-55. If the 
plague have not spread, and yet after being washed and shut up seven 
days have not changed its appearance, it is unclean. A fray 55 in its 
hack or its front. A pit or hollow in the wrong or the right side, 
caused by the eating away of the nap or thread. This causes what 
is here called by an obvious figure, hind or front baldness, that is, a 
fray in the back or front. 56. If the plague appear to fade, the part 
affected is to be torn off and burned. 57. An outbreak,^ a reappear- 



174 THE LEPROSY DISCERNED. 

still in the garment or in the warp or in the woof or in any 
article of skin, it is an outbreak ; in the fire thou shalt burn 
that wherein the plague is. 58. And the garment or warp or 
woof or any article of skin, which thou shalt wash, and the 
plague depart from it, then it shall be washed again and be 
clean. 59. This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a gar- 

ance of the disease. Such a garment is to be burned. 58. But if on 
washing the plague disappear, the garment is to be washed again and 
be clean. 

59. This is the recapitulation. This is the law. This chapter is 
complete in itself. It contains the diagnosis of the leprosy in the 
human subject, and in that which is very near to him, his raiment, 
simply in reference to the determination of cleanness or uncleanness. 
This recapitulation, indeed, is limited to the latter part of the chapter 
which refers to garments. This part is in fact finished, as we have 
in every case the final decision concerning the garment. We are 
directed how to dispose of it, and that ends the matter. But the 
previous part of the chapter is strictly confined to the question of 
cleanness and uncleanness. But in the case of the human subject 
there is the ulterior question regarding the mode of re-establishing 
proper relations between the convalescent and the community of God. 
The matter is therefore not entirely settled in this communication, 
but is taken up in the next chapter. The effect of this is to keep the 
two questions of purity and atonement perfectly distinct. This is of 
the first importance in a work that is intended to be both instructive 
and practical. To pronounce it clean or unclean. The priest, we 
perceive, does not profess to purify in the sense of removing disease, 
and thereby impurity, and restoring health, and thereby purity. He 
merely pronounces or declares him or it clean or unclean. His dec- 
laration does not create or alter, but simply attests the state of the 
object in question. This applies equally to the man and to the gar- 
ment. There is, however, a marked difference between the mode in 
which he deals with the garment and with the human subject. The 
leprous garment is to be burned, as noxious, and incurable. The 
leprous man is to be shut out of the camp. Exclusion from the 



LEVITICUS XIII. 59. 175 

ment of wool or linen, or in the warp or woof, or in any article 
of skin to pronounce it clean or unclean, 28 ^f ^f *[[ 

camp is a formal excommunication. The only ground of excommuni- 
cation from the people of God is unholiness manifesting itself in un- 
belief and impenitence. Hence we gather that exclusion from the 
camp is a symbol of alienation from the commonwealth of Israel, or 
the family of heaven, on account of sin. And it is not difficult to see 
that leprosy is a most striking and awful emblem of sin. It is conta- 
gious, it is unclean, and it was incurable by any human means in the 
time of Moses. In all these it has a parallel in sin. Sin in the dis- 
position and habitude of the mind is eminently contagious ; it is essen- 
tially a moral defilement of the soul ; and it is incurable by any 
appliance of human philosophy. As leprosy is a most loathsome 
disease of the body, so is sin the unseemly canker of the mind. As 
all proper disease is the consequence of sin, so this malady is well 
chosen as a type* of the whole class to symbolize the moral disease. 
In this chapter, then, we are making progress in the discrimination 
of the clean and the unclean, and approaching step by step toward 
the higher discrimination of the right and the wrong, the holy and the 
unholy, the morally good and evil. 

NOTES. 

2. Rising, rwto, ovXyj, scar; r. take up, raise up. Scah, inhBO, 
vqfjxwLa, mark ; r. stick, spread, pour. Blotch, rnna , TrjXavyqs, far- 
shining ; r. be bright. Leprosy, PSHS, Xi-rtpa.; r. strike, sting, waste, 
roughen. 

3. Pronounce unclean, tfEB , one of the notable meanings of the piel 
or intensive form of the verb. 

6. Scab, t^nao^ , a variation of nnSG , vs. 2. 

10. Quick flesh, itoa TPTV2 , quickness, or a quick place of the flesh ; 
arro tov vyiovs ttJs crapKos r>}s ^oj<t^9. 

18. Boil, "pnd, an enflamed sore, cA/cos; r. un. be hot. 

23. Scar, tq'n , ovXrj. 

24. Burn, n;s^ , KaraKavfia. From the same root as ">S (Isa. iii. 24). 

30. Scall, pn.3, Opava-fxa, breaking; r. tear. 

31. nhlW, black. But Sept. £av$%ov(ra. 



176 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

39. Alphos, pha , aXcjios, vitiligo alba ; a kind of white tetter. 

40. Hind-bald, iry# , <f>a\aKp6s ; r. shear, cut, make bald. 

41. Fore-bald, ttaa , avacp&XavTos ; r. be high. 

51. Fretting, 'n^Xft'O, ^a/xoi/o?, perseverans ; r. sting, smart, embitter. 

55. .Fmy, nnns, a pit or hollow; ecmjpiKTai, made firm, fixed; r. 
g%, deepen. 

57. Outbreak, tvKa, a budding forth; AcVpa i£av$ov<ra. 



XIV. THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

This chapter contains two distinct communications from the Lord ; 
the former made to Moses alone, the latter to Moses and Aaron 
conjointly. The former refers to the sacrificial means by which the 
leper when cleansed is to be restored to the full communion of the 
faithful (1-32). This, of course, was applicable to present circum- 
stances in the wilderness. The latter communication refers to the 
case of a house affected with leprosy (33-57). This, on the contrary, 
was designed for a future state of things, when the people would be 
settled in their own land. Hence we see the propriety of its forming 
a distinct communication. It is obvious that Moses, having received 
these three distinct instructions concerning leprosy, has arranged them 
in the natural order. That which regulates the discerning of leprosy 
in the human subject and in a garment is rightly placed first ; that 
which prescribes the mode of re-instating the healed leper in the 
privileges of the people of God naturally follows ; and that which 
refers to a future condition of the people is evidently in its right place 
at the close of the other two. It is equally manifest that Moses was 
not at liberty to take these communications asunder, and re-arrange 
them according to his own fancy. 

1-20. The rite to be observed in formally pronouncing the leper 
to be clean. 2. In the day of his cleansing. When he became a 
leper there was a formal process by which he was uncleansed, or 
judicially pronounced unclean. So when he is healed of his leprosy, 
there is a solemn rite by which he is cleansed, that is, pronounced to 
be clean. No such formulary or ceremony could make him clean. 
It could only legally attest his cleanness. Brought unto the priest. 



LEVITICUS XIV. 2-4. 177 

XIV. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. This 
shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing ; and 
he shall be brought unto the priest. 3. And the priest shall 
go forth out of the camp : and the priest shall look, and behold 
the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper. 4. And the priest 
shall command to take for him that is to be cleansed two live 

Brought to a place in the outskirts of the camp, where the priest 
might meet him. 3. The priest shall go forth out of the camp, because 
the leper is not at liberty to enter the camp, until he is declared clean 
in a formal manner. The Mediator goes from heaven to earth to 
meet the sinner in his estrangement. Is healed. The function of the 
priest is altogether distinct from that of the physician. The latter 
applies his art to heal the diseased ; the former simply ascertains that 
he is healed, in order that he may proceed to pronounce him clean, 
and re-instate him in the fellowship of the redeemed. In the leper, 
literally, from the leper, that is, in a pregnant sense healed and re- 
moved from him. 4. The priest shall command. He gives the 
authoritative order to take the steps necessary for the restoration of 
the excommunicated one. To take, or fetch. This is literally ren- 
dered thus, " and he shall take." But it is clear, from the issuing of 
the command, that the person who takes is different from the priest. 
The leper, or rather his friend for him, takes the things mentioned. 
Two live, clean birds.* The special meaning of the word bird here 
is sparrow. But the general signification, any small bird, including 
the sparrow of course, is obviously intended, as the epithet clean 
would have been superfluous in the case of the sparrow. The field- 
bird is chosen, because the scene of this curious transaction lies without 
the camp, in the field of the world. Live. Some understand by this, 
healthy birds. But it appears simply to mean living, because one of 
them is to be slain, and the other is to be sent away alive, and neither 
could be done, if the birds were not alive. Clean. This limits the 
kind of bird. But there is an obvious allusion to the sort of victim 
which is proper to stand for one who had been unclean. And cedar 
wood. Chips of cedar wood, or a rod of this wood, according to tra- 
dition, a cubit long. Some have suggested the juniper as the cedar 
23 



178 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

birds and cedar wood and crimson wool and hyssop. 5. And 
the priest shall command to slay the one bird in an earthen 

of this passage, because the cedar grows not in Arabia Petraea, but 
on the Lebanon. But the wood of the cedar, however, was well- 
known in Egypt, where it was used for ornaments, coffins, doors, and 
boxes. There is also the cedar of Algeria and of the Himalayas, as 
well as of Lebanon. This is the first time the tree is mentioned in 
the Pentateuch. The cedar of Lebanon is a species of fir, or, as 
others say, of pine, at all events of the coniferae, and was the most 
magnificent tree with which the Israelite was familiar. Hence it is 
contrasted as an extreme with the hyssop (1 Kings iv. 33), and with 
the thistle or thorn (1 Kings xiv. 9). Its wood is fine, solid, free 
from knots, odoriferous, antiseptic. Chosen for its resistance to decay, 
it expresses perpetuity, the perpetuity of the covenant of peace. 
Crimson wool. The original means a material dyed with the kermes 
worm. The kermes is the coccus, formerly supposed to be a berry, 
but now known to be, as the scriptural name indicates, an insect living 
on the ilex or holm-oak. It is at first white, then green, and finally 
and permanently crimson. Scarlet was the name of the color in the 
time of our English translators. The color here doubtless belongs to a 
woollen thread or cloth. Red is the fastest color, or the most difficult 
to be disengaged from the material dyed with it. It is the color of 
blood, and therefore points to expiation. Hyssop. As the European 
hyssop {hyssopus officinalis) does not belong to Asia, this is generally 
supposed to be organy or marjoram, a plant of the order labiatae, or 
mint tribe. Sweet marjoram is peculiarly aromatic and fragrant, and 
much used in cookery, Its fragrance fits it to express faith in a pro- 
pitiation, or in the acceptance of God. The conjecture that some 
stalks of this hyssop were bound to the rod of cedar wood by the 
crimson thread, forming the brush or aspergillus with which the 
sprinkling was performed, is plausible, and may be founded on vs. 51; 
though this is not here asserted, and these articles in themselves sig- 
nify reliance on the propitiation, without being combined for the 
purpose of sprinkling, as we learn from vs. 52, where they are classed 
with the live birds, and are symbols of faith in the atonement, and 
from Num. xix. 6, where they are cast into the midst of the burning 



LEVITICUS XIV. 5, 6. 179 

vessel over fresh water. 6. And the live bird he shall take, 
and the cedar wood and the crimson wool and the hyssop ; 
and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the 
bird that was slain over the fresh water: 7. And he shall 

of the red heifer. These three emblems of incorruptibility, expiation, 
and renovation combine among themselves to indicate faith in an 
eternal redemption that never fails to make way for pardon and 
acceptance. 5. The priest shall command, order another to perform 
a certain part. To slay the one bird. Some have doubted whether 
this be a proper sacrifice, as the altar is absent, and therefore no 
sprinkling or burning on it takes place. But this is a narrow view. 
An altar is merely a convenient instrument. A piece of earthenware 
or wood will serve the same purpose. The priest is here, and that is 
all that is essential. Hence in vs. 53, the process here described is 
said to atone or propitiate. In an earthen vessel over fresh water. 
Water fresh from the running brook or overflowing fountain is to be 
received in an earthen vessel, like its native bed, over which the spar- 
row or little bird is to be slain, that its blood may mingle with the 
crystal stream. Here the emblems of expiation and purification are 
blended together, as they always concur in the experience of the saved. 
See John xix. 34 ; 1 John v. 6. The connection would be the same, 
even if the vessel receiving the blood were merely held over the fresh 
water flowing in its natural channel. 6. And the live bird. The reason 
for the double symbol is that we may have the emblem of life, as well 
as of death. The Mediator is one ; but he must not. only die, but live 
again, if he is to succeed in his mediation. He must not only bear 
death, but win life for the guilty. Hence the two birds. And dip 
them in the blood. The symbolic whole is one. This is represented 
by dipping the live bird in the water mingled with the blood of the 
slain bird. This significantly connects the two birds, and shows them 
to be symbolically one. The Mediator has died, and yet he lives. 
The blood indicates that he has died. The fresh water intimates 
that he is himself holy, and has the principle and the right of life in 
himself. He is gone through death to life. This involves the wonder 
of a resurrection, as we shall see. The cedar wood, crimson wool, 
and hyssop are also dipped in the water and blood. They are sym- 



180 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

spatter upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven 
times ; and he shall cleanse him, and shall send the live bird 
into the open field. 3. And he that is to be cleansed shall 

bolic and instrumental — symbolic of the instrument by which the 
eternal redemption is applied ; instrumental, when actually used in 
its application by sprinkling ; symbolic always, whether actually used 
as an instrument for sprinkling, or thrown upon the fire by which the 
red heifer is consumed ; instrumental, apparently, in the present case 
(Heb, ix. 19). The instrument which they represent is faith, which 
in the Spirit's hand applies the benefits of the redemption to the soul. 
7. And he shall spatter. This method of application is used instead 
of sprinkling, when the quantity to be employed is small (See on iv. 
6). The priest applies the blood and water to the unclean; the 
blood which expiates, the water which cleanses. Both are necessary. 
Without atonement he has no right or hope of cleansing ; without 
cleansing of heart he is not inclined to accept the atonement. Without 
the good tidings of pardon, acceptance, ransom, propitiation, and 
invitation he will not be moved to repentance ; without the principle 
of new life, he will not understand, believe, repent, or return to God. 
Seven times. The number of perfection, holiness, and communion. 
Cleanse him, formally, declare him clean by a symbolic act, in which 
is included the application of the water, the symbol of purification. 
As the priest uncleanses, that is, pronounces unclean, the leper, so he 
cleanses or pronounces him clean when healed of his leprosy. In 
both cases, his word or act constitutes ceremonial, but not actual, 
uncleanness or cleanness. In a moral sense the former is caused by 
some malign influence in the will of man ; the latter, by the Spirit of 
God in the same spiritual sphere. The symbol of cleansing, in the 
foregoing ceremony, is water. The symbol of atonement, the properly 
mediative act, is the blood. Send the live bird into the open field, let 
him loose into his native element of life, of happiness. The Mediator, 
having yielded to death, rises again to the glory, honor, and immor- 
tality which are the reward of his perfect holiness. As this sacrifice 
has been offered by the leper, he avails himself of the good offices of 
the mediator. He has, therefore, by and with him died unto sin, and 
he is quickened and raised up together with him. to a new enjoyment 



LEVITICUS XIV. 7-11. 181 

wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and wash in water 
and be clean, and afterwards come into the camp : and he 
shall tarry outside his tent seven days. 9. And it shall be on 
the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his head and 
his chin and his eyebrows, and all his hair he shall shave off; 
and he shall wash his clothes, and wash his flesh in water and 
be clean. 10. And on the eighth day he shall take two perfect 
he-lambs and one perfect ewe of the first year, and three tenth 
deals of flour for an oblation, mingled with oil, and one log of 
oil. 11. And the priest that cleanseth shall present the man 

of all the blessings of life. By this highly significant process the 
leper who has recovered is prepared for re-admission into the camp 
of the holy nation. 8. The utmost precaution is to be taken to 
remove any remaining trace of the disease. He shall wash his clothes, 
shave off all his hair, wash his body in water, and be clean. He is 
then admissible into the camp. But as he was sprinkled seven times, 
so seven times are to pass over him before he is permitted to enter 
into his home. 9. On the seventh day a similar thorough purification 
of the person is to take place. 

10-20. On the eighth day a special sacrifice is prescribed. 10. On 
the eighth day, after the seven days have been completed. As the 
young is to be seven days with the dam before it is fit to be offered, 
as the new-born infant is seven days with the mother and then cir- 
cumcised on the eighth, as the high-priest was consecrated for seven 
days and on the eighth entered on his office, so the leper after being 
seven days healed is on the eighth day restored with all due formality 
to the right and duty and fellowship of the children of God. Three 
tenth deals. The tenth deal is the omer, the tenth part of an ephah 
(Ex. xvi. 36). The ephah contains about 4 gal. 1 quart, 1.4 pints, and 
the omer, therefore, about 1 quart, 1.54 pints. One tenth deal is 
appointed for each of the three lambs according to Num. xv. 4. 
One log of oil. According to Rabbinical authority the log contained 
six eggs, or about half a pint. It was the twelfth part of a hin. 
11. The priest that cleanseth, that performs the ceremony by which he 
is declared clean. Present the man to be cleansed. Having been for- 



182 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

to be cleansed and those things before the Lord at the door 
of the tent of meeting. 12. And the priest shall take the one 
lamb and offer it for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and 
make them a waving before the Lord. 13. And he shall slay 
the lamb in the place where he slayeth the sin-sacrifice and 
the burnt-sacrifice in the holy place ; for as the sin-sacrifice, 
so the trespass-offering is the priest's ; it is most holy ; 14. And 
the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and 
the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is 
to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon 

mally admitted into the camp as clean, he may appear before the 
Lord with a sacrifice. 12. Offer it for a trespass-offering. The 
trespass-offering represents amends or satisfaction for positive duty 
unfulfilled, a righteousness in the stead of the righteousness left 
undone, giving a title not merely to release from death but to resto- 
ration to life. Now the leper, being healed of an incurable disease, 
was in a. pre-eminent sense rescued from a state of death and restored 
to a state of life. But life is the reward of active obedience, and 
therefore it is befitting that the offering that represented active right- 
eousness should in his case take the front place. Besides it is better 
fitted to shadow forth complete restoration to the privileges of 
adoption than either the sin-sacrifice or the burnt-sacrifice. And the 
log of oil. The oil is offered, but does not go upon the altar, as it has 
a special purpose and meaning of its own. This comes out in the 
sequel. Make them a waving. Waving denotes the communion of 
saints, which was a peculiarly appropriate symbol, when the recovered 
leper was to be restored to the companionship of his home. A wav- 
ing was an offering of which not more than a part was laid on the 
altar, and the whole or main part handed over to the priests. 13. And 
he shall slay the lamb. The trespass-offering is to be slain in the 
usual place, and dealt with in the usual way. 14. Put it on the tip. 
This reminds us of the consecration of the priests ; and the analogy 
is just. The leper who was ceremonially excommunicated is now 
restored to the kingdom of priests, as well as the holy nation (Ex. 
xix. 6). Hence the two rites must have their points of correspond- 



LEVITICUS XIV. 14-18. 183 

the great toe of his right foot. 15. And the priest shall take 
of the log of oil, and pour it on the left palm of the priest. 
16. And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is 
in his palm ; and shall spatter of the oil with his finger seven 
times before the Lord. 17. And of the rest of the oil that is 
on his palm shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear 
of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right 
hand and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood 
of the trepass-offering. 18. And the remnant of the oil that 
is on the priest's palm he shall put upon the head of him that 
is to be cleansed ; and the priest shall atone for him before the 

ence. 15-17. Take of the log of oil. This is not the anointing 
oil (Ex. xxx. 24; Lev. viii. 10), but mere olive oil. The blood 
denotes expiation ; the oil sanctification. Spatter. This is usually- 
done with the finger (iv. 6) Seven times before the Lord. Seven 
times in token of perfection. The spattering of the oil before the 
Lord at the altar of burnt-sacrifice is a dedication of the oil to its 
sacred use, and an acknowledgment that he is holy and the Author of 
holiness, and that all his people ought to be holy. 17. Upon the- 
blood of the trespass-offering. This is an emphatic testimony that 
sanctification comes through atonement, and that both are equally 
requisite for the returning sinner. 18. Upon the head. This com- 
pletes his priestly consecration to be a member of the holy nation. 
It is remarkable how closely the restoration of the leper here re- 
sembles the consecration of the priest. It is to be observed, however, 
that the characteristic ceremony of the filling of the hands, which is 
the essence of the official consecration, is wanting here. Of him that 
is to be cleansed. The old English phrase, " of him that is a cleansing," 
would be more exact here. Every part of the process, from the first 
command issued by the priest to the offering of the oblation, was in- 
cluded in the formal act of cleansing or declaring him clean. But the 
water and the oil symbolize the Spirit of holiness, the agent of cleansing 
or sanctification, and the sevenfold application of each is the formal 
cleansing of the leper. And the priest shall atone for him. This 
shows that the sacrifices now offered on the occasion of the leper 



184 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

Lokd. 19. And the priest shall offer the sin-sacrifice, and 
shall atone for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness ; 
and afterward he shall slay the burnt-sacrifice. 20. And the 
priest shall offer the burnt-sacrifice and the oblation on the 
altar ; and the priest shall atone for him and he shall be 
clean. § 

being pronounced clean have a different function from that of cleansing. 
They atone. The leper was already clean, when the priest inspected 
and passed him. He had only to be ceremonially cleansed, or solemnly 
pronounced clean by the application of the water and the oil. This 
was necessarily accompanied with appropriate sacrifices, by which the 
priest atones for him, that is, makes him rectum in curia, right in 
heaven's court. 19. The sin-sacrifice. This is the ewe-lamb, which 
is equivalent to the she-kid of the goats, which was appointed as a 
sin-sacrifice for one of the people (iv. 28). Here we see the trespass- 
offering and the sin-sacrifice for the worshipper in one and the same 
condition of sin. This proves that they refer to different aspects of 
the same offence. The former respects the righteousness that ought 
to have been rendered, but was not; the latter, the wrong that was 
done, and must be undone by the endurance of an equivalent pain. 
As the leper is restored to life, it is natural that the offering that 
represents amends or righteousness should take the prominent place. 
The burnt-sacrifice. After being discharged from the guilt of the 
occasional sin of an inadvertent nature connected with his malady, he 
is prepared for offering the burnt-sacrifice, by which is at the same 
time commemorated and foreshadowed the great propitiation for sin, 
as the fallen condition of each member of the human race. Then it 
was strictly a foreshadowing; but after the first institution of the 
typical sacrifice, it was also a commemorating for the strengthening 
of faith and the revival of the sense of peace with God. 20. The 
burnt-sacrifice and the oblation on the altar. The burnt-sacrifice was 
wholly burned on the altar, as an emblem of the all-sufficient pro- 
pitiation. The oblation, which was proportionate to the three offerings 
presented, appears on this occasion to have been also wholly consumed 
on the fire of the altar. As the life of the leper was restored, after 



LEVITICUS XIV. 20-23. 185 

21. And if he be poor and his hand find not, then he shall 
take one lamb for a trespass-offering to be waved to atone for 
him, and one tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for an obla- 
tion, and a log of oil. 22. And two doves or two pigeons, as 
his hand may find : and the one shall be for a sin-sacrifice and 
the other for a burnt-sacrifice. 23. And he shall bring them 
on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, to the door 
of the tent of meeting before the Lord. 24. And the priest 
shall take the lamb of the trespass-offering and the log of oil ; 
and the priest shall make them a waving before the Lord. 
25. And he shall slay the lamb of the trespass-offering, and 
the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering and 
put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, 
and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe 
of his right foot. 26. And the priest shall pour of the oil upon 

having given way to the death that followed an incurable malady, it 
is natural that propitiation in contrast with expiation should have the 
foreground. And the oblation represents the righteousness which on 
the part of the substitute propitiates. Accordingly, it is added once 
more : " And the priest shall atone for him." The great propitiatory 
sacrifice is once more brought in remembrance before God on his 
behalf. 

21-32. The poor leper's offering. The poor man is allowed to 
substitute two doves or pigeons for the lambs to be offered for a sin- 
sacrifice and a burnt-sacrifice. No exchange, however, is allowed for 
the trespass-offering. This intimates that the amends must be an 
exact equivalent, and admits of no abatement (v. 15). The process, 
which is otherwise the same, is, however, very minutely described, 
after the manner of Scripture. 21. Poor, 21 leaning or dependent on 
another, because unable to stand alone. His hand Jindeth not ; his 
ability does not reach to two or three lambs. One tenth deal, cor- 
responding to the one lamb which he brings. 22-31. The ritual 
observance is here the same as before. 23. On the eighth day for his 
cleansing, for the rite in which he declares him clean, and makes 
24 



186 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

the left palm of the priest. 27. And the priest shall spatter 
with his right finger of the oil that is on his left palm seven 
times before the Lord. 28. And the priest shall put of the oil 
that is on his palm upon the tip of the right ear of him that is 
to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and 
upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood 
of the trespass-offering. 29. And the remnant of the oil that 
is on the priest's palm he shall put upon the head of him that 
is to be cleansed to atone for him before the Lord. 30. And 
he shall offer the one of the doves or of the pigeons, as his 
hand findeth. 31. Whatever his hand findeth, the one a sin- 
sacrifice and the other a burnt-sacrifice, with the oblation : and 
the priest shall atone for him that is to be cleansed before the 
Lord. 32. This is the law of him in whom is a plague of 
leprosy, whose hand cannot find for his cleansing. ^f 

atonement for him. 28. Upon the place of the blood of the trespass- 
offering. The expression is even more precise and pointed than in 
vs. 17. The place is the very spot on which the blood was applied. 
29. To atone for him. The application of the oil is here made to have 
part in the atonement. This arises from the log of oil being waved 
before the Lord with the lamb of the trespass-offering. The atoning 
thus refers back to the lamb that was slain. And the lesson we have 
to learn is, that without faith in the Mediator the atonement will not 
avail for us. 31. With 51 the oblation. This is a mere variation for 
" and the oblation " (vs. 20) . Shall atone. The atoning is mentioned 
a second time, as before. 32. This is the law. This verse recapitu- 
lates the last paragraph relating to the poor man. For his cleansing, 
for the offerings to be made and the symbols of cleansing to be ap- 
plied on the occasion of his recovery. This closes the law of the 
leper. Uncleanness of the deepest degree attaches to the leper. 
Ceremonial uncleanness involves ceremonial guilt, and demands an 
atonement. So moral impurity involves moral guilt, which requires 
a propitiation. The uncleanness and the guilt mutually imply each 



LEVITICUS XIV. 32-34. 187 

33. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 
34. When ye go into the land of Kenaan, which I give you 
for a possession, and I put a plague of leprosy in a house of 

other ; yet they are totally distinct, and must be removed by totally 
different means. The Spirit of God by the truth of revelation re- 
moves moral impurity ; the Mediator by his undertaking for the 
guilty relieves him from the consequences of his guilt. When the 
Spirit displaces impurity, he at the same time replaces purity in 
the soul ; so when the Mediator by his dying releases the guilty 
from penal death, he at the same time by his doing restores him to 
rightful life. The symbols of purification and propitiation come 
together in the ceremonial connected with the leper's re-entrance 
into communion with God. The water and the blood meet in the 
initial sacrifice ; the oil and the blood are associated in the final one. 
If the water and the oil are to be distinguished, the oil lays the 
emphasis on the enlightening of the understanding ; the water, ori the 
rectifying of the will. The blood and the fat of the victim invariably 
belong to the altar. The blood is sprinkled on its sides, or applied to 
its horns ; the fat is burned upon its hearth. The blood expiates ; 
the fat propitiates. They correspond to the passive and active obe- 
dience of the Mediator. The death and then the life are strikingly 
represented by the two birds. As these are two parts of the ex- 
perience of the one Mediator, they really involve and shadow forth 
the doctrine of the resurrection. This is singularly appropriate to 
the case of the leper, who has in a physical sense passed from death 
unto life. The trespass-offering, which represents the active obedience 
of the Mediator, by which he becomes entitled to life, is justly con- 
spicuous in the case of the leper who has been unexpectedly blessed 
with a renewal of life. 

33-53. House leprosy. This forms a distinct communication ad- 
dressed to Moses and Aaron. 34. When ye go into the land. This 
provision is not for the present, as the preceding paragraphs show 
themselves to be by the reference to the camp. It is a prospective 
arrangement for the future condition of the people, when they should 
dwell in houses in the land of promise. Which 1 give you. More 



188 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

the land of your possession; 35. Then he that owneth the 
house shall go and tell the priest, saying, There seemeth to 
me as it were a plague in the house. 36. And the priest shall 
command, and they shall clear the house, before the priest 
goes hi to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not 

than four centuries ago the land was promised to the seed of Abraham. 
But it is only now to be given, for two reasons : first, because the 
iniquity of the Amorites is only now full, and they are to be judicially 
swept away ; and secondly, because the seed has now become a nation 
large enough to occupy the land from which they were to be instru- 
mental in expelling the doomed race (Gen. xv.). And I put a plague. 
God is the Governor and Administrator, as well as the Creator of 
the world ; and, whatever man might say, from whose mind God is 
often more remote than the laws of nature, regards and speaks of the 
whole process of things ordinary and extraordinary as under the 
control of his providence. The pestilence which infests the walls of 
a house is designated by the general term leprosy, simply because it 
has, not an identity, but an analogy with the human disease called by 
that name. 35. He that owneth the house is bound to give notice to 
the priest. Even self-interest moves him to do so, as disease, as well 
as dirt and decay in a house, is an obvious cause of disease to its 
inhabitant. As it were a plague. The suspicion of a pestilential 
disease has been awakened in his mind by the appearance of the 
house. The priest only is competent to pronounce it clean or unclean. 
36. The priest shall command. This phrase is used when something 
is to be done by others, and in this case by the inhabitants of the 
house. The thing commanded is contained in the following clause. 
Clear the house, prepare it for inspection by removing the furniture 
and the inhabitants. This was no great trouble in the mild climate 
and simple habits of the country. Tent life was not unfamiliar. The 
reason for this is that the things in the house may not partake in its 
uncleanness, in the event of the leprosy being found in it. There is 
a wonderful considerateness in the divine ordinances. This pre- 
caution is sufficient to show that the uncleanness spoken of in the 
text is ceremonial, and not arising from infection. The noxious 



LEVITICUS XIV. 36-40. 189 

defiled ; and after this the priest shall go in to see the house. 
37. And he shall see the plague, and behold the plague in the 
walls of the house consists of greenish or reddish strakes ; and 
their look is lower than the wall. 38. And the priest shall 
come out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up 
the house seven days. 39. And the priest shall return on the 
seventh day, and see, and behold the plague hath spread in 
the walls of' the house. 40. Then the priest shall command, 



growth on the walls was no doubt injurious to health, and might 
even conduce to leprosy ; but there was no disease in the walls which 
could be communicated by contagion to the human subject. 37. 
Greenish or reddish strakes. 37 These streaks are the indications of 
the dry rot, a disease affecting timber. "When produced by the 
attacks of fungi, the first stage of it consists in the appearance of 
small white points, from which a filamentous substance radiates, 
parallel with the surface of the timber. This is the first stage of 
growth of the seeds of the fungus, and the filamentous matter is their 
thallus or spawn. This insinuates itself into the crevices of the wood, 
forces its pa*rts asunder, and causes in the end the total ruin of the 
timber. The fructification and growth of Merulius lachrymans, 
Polyporus destructor, and other fungi exercise their destructive power 
on timber. This disease spreads from the wood-work to the walls 
of a house, especially in damp situations and amid heaps of refuse, 
and eventually succeeds in crumbling them to pieces. The greenish 
and reddish colors observed in the patches of fungous matter arise 
from the vegetative and chemical influences which are at work." 37 
And their look is lower than the wall. The consumptive influence 
of these fungous plants has penetrated beneath the surface of the wall. 
It is not a mere discoloring moisture, flowing down the surface. It 
has sent its roots and filaments into the material of the wall. 39. 
The usual process of inspection takes place, and the plague is found 
to be spreading. 40. Pull out the stones. The priest now commands 
that the material affected by the plague be removed. If the fungous 
excrescence be entirely removed, the disease may be eradicated. 



190 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

and they shall pull out the stones in which the plague is, and 
cast them outside the city in an unclean place. 41. And he 
shall have the house scraped within around, and they shall 
pour out the dust that they scrape off outside the city in an 
unclean place. 42. And they shall take other stones, and put 
them in the place of those stones ; and other dust he shall 
take and plaster the house. 43. And if the plague return 
and break out in the house after pulling out the stones and 
after scraping the house and after it is plastered ; 44. Then 
the priest shall go in and see, and behold the plague has spread 
in the house ; it is a fretting leprosy in the house ; it is un- 
clean. 45. And he shall pull down the house, its stones and its 

Cast them outside the city. This implies that the house is in a town, 
where the plague is more likely to arise, on account of the density of 
the population and the absence of any sufficient arrangements for 
ventilation or cleanliness. In an unclean place, that no clean place 
may be denied with the rubbish. If there were no such place, some 
uncultivated or unprofitable spot would be chosen, which would 
become ceremonially unclean by the very presence of the infected 
material. 41. Scraped within around, the outer coating of mortar 
or clay removed from the whole inner side of the wall all around. 
Want of air and light favors the wall rot. Hence it appears, usually, 
in the inside of damp, unventilated rooms, especially cellars. The 
dust, the crumbled material out of which the plaster was made, by 
means of water, and into which it now when scraped off returns. 
This indicates a wall of clay or stone, covered with some kind of 
plaster. This was obviously the ordinary style of architecture in 
Palestine at the date of the enactment. 42. Other stones are to 
replace those taken away. Other dust is to be made into plaster, 
with which the whole wall is to be plastered anew. The dust was 
probably mere clay. 43, 44. If after this thorough repair the plague 
reappear and spread in the house, it proves itself to be too deep-seated 
for any partial remedy, and the house is condemned. It is a fretting 
leprosy, similar to that in a garment (xiii. 51), a noxious and incurable 



LEVITICUS XIV. 45-49. 191 

timber and all the dust of the house, and carry them outside 
the city into an unclean place. 46. And he that goeth into 
the house all the while he hath shut it up shall be unclean 
until the even. 47. And he that lieth in the house shall wash 
his clothes ; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his 
clothes. 48. And if the priest do go in and see, and behold 
the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house is 
plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, 
because the plague is healed. 49. And he shall take to purge 
the house two birds and cedar wood and crimson wool and 

plague. 45. And he shall pull down. As the garment with the 
fretting leprosy is to be burned, so the house is to be pulled down. 
The house is, as it were, the outer garment of the man. Its materials 
are mostly incombustible ; but it can be pulled down. This is done 
by the order of the priest. All the materials are to be removed from 
the town. Houses in the East, in those early times, were not of great 
value, and could be replaced at a moderate cost. 46, 47. He that 
goeth into the house. The needful or accidental occasion of going into 
the house is not indicated. The consequence only is noted. He that 
entered it during the period of its being closed for probation was 
unclean until the evening. He that slept or ate in it must further wash 
his clothes. 48. If the disease do not spread, or make its appearance 
in the new plaster, the house is to be pronounced clean. 49. To 
purge 49 the house, to release it from the guilt, and at the same time 
from . the defilement of sin. The house is regarded as a part or 
property of the man, and hence is treated as involved in his guilt. It 
is hereby intimated that sin has tainted the human race, and this moral 
evil has caused that to be a source of defilement which otherwise 
would n«(k All things work together for good to the right-minded. 
But the self-same concatenation of events work together for evil to 
the wrong-minded. These are but the two sides of the one principle 
of things proceeding from the inscrutable wisdom of God. To purge 
the healed house, then, is virtually to make expiation for, and also to 
cleanse from, the sin of the inhabitant or owner of the house. The 



192 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

hyssop. 50. And he shall slay the one bird in an earthen 
vessel over fresh water. 51. And he shall take the cedar wood 
and the hyssop and the crimson wool and the live bird, and 
dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the fresh water ; 
and he shall spatter on the house seven times. 52. And he 
shall purge the house with the blood of the bird and with the 
fresh water and with the live bird and with the cedar wood 

word " purge " is here designedly adopted to allow of expiation and 
purification being both included. Two birds, sparrows, or the like, as 
in the case of the leper himself. There was, then, a very close 
parallel between the two cases. The disease of leprosy affected the 
body. But the body is not the man, and is not in itself capable of 
any moral activity or accountability. Yet it is the house of a soul 
capable of intelligent' volition, and therefore of moral conduct and 
responsibility. When this body is affected with a mortal disease, it 
is suffering the consequences of the sin of the soul that inhabits it. 
The stone and mortar house is but an outer and wider' habitation, 
which the rational creature, susceptible of heat and cold, constructs 
for himself to shelter him from the inclemencies of the weather. If 
the malady of the inner house is an index of guilt in the inhabitant 
affecting the habitation, the distemper of the outer house is to be 
regarded as a similar sign of guilt in the inmate. Hence each of 
them is purged by the same sacred rite. Cedar wood and crimson 
wool and hyssop are therefore associated with the two birds. 50-53. 
Hence the process of making expiation for the healed house is merely 
a reiteration of the interesting preliminary ceremony employed on 
the occasion of declaring the man who was healed of the leprosy to be 
clean. In the blood of the slain bird and in the fresh water. Here it 
is made more plain than in vs. 6 that these were dipped in the water, 
as we^ll as in the blood, or in the blood diffused in the water. 4 Spatter 
on the house, as he before spattered on the healed body (vs. 7). In 
this spattering of the commingled blood and water, the symbolic acts 
of expiation and cleansing are combined. 52. And he shall purge. It 
is remarkable that this word does not occur in the corresponding cere- 
mony for the leper. Yet the meaning must be the same, as the same 



LEVITICUS XIV. 52-57. 193 

and with the hyssop and with the crimson wool. 53. And he 
shall send the live bird out of the city into the open field ; and 
he shall atone for the house, and it shall be clean. 

54. This is the law for every plague of leprosy and for the 
scall. 55. And for the leprosy of a garment and for the house. 
56. And for the rising and for the scab and for the blotch. 

elements are employed in precisely the same way. This is therefore 
a new instance of one account supplementing and explaining another. 
With the blood of the bird and with the fresh water and with. Here 
are three things with which this purging is accomplished — with the 
blood of the bird, which expiates ; with the fresh water, which cleanses ; 
and with the cedar wood and hyssop and crimson wool, which express 
the faith which flows from a cleansed heart, and relies on the shed 
blood of atonement. Hence we see that purging from sin is a preg- 
nant word when it is accompanied with the symbol of sanctification, 
as well as that of justification, and denotes both expiation and cleansing. 
And he shall atone, that is, propitiate. This is employed, as before, 
to express making satisfaction for sin in contradistinction to expelling 
it from the heart by a new and holy disposition. 

54-57. A formal recapitulation of this and the preceding chapter. 
54. The leprosy proper is discussed in xiii. 1-28, the scall in xiii. 
29-37. 55. The leprosy of a garment is regulated in xiii. 47-59, 
that of a house in xiv. 33-53. 56. The rising scab and blotch are 
mentioned in xiii. 2, and discussed under the head of leprosy. It is 
evident from this enumeration of topics that the sacred writer has 
before him three divine communications, which he does not feel 
himself at liberty to alter in matter or arrangement. In his enumera- 
tion, however, he touches upon the principal points in the order of 
thought. Under the head of leprosy proper he includes xiii. 1-28 
and xiv. 1-32. Passing over minor topics, he distinguishes the scall, 
in xiii. 29-37, from the leprosy. He then brings together leprosy of 
a garment and of a house. He then notices the rising,- scab, and 
blotch, which may in certain cases be distinct from real leprosy. 57. 
Lastly, he indicates the precise design with which these chapters 
were given. To teach, to give plain instructions for discerning the 
25 



194 THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 

57. To teach when he is unclean and when he is clean : this is 
•the law of leprosy. ^f 

leprosy. When he is unclean , 57 when the person examined is affected 
with the disease, and therefore unclean. And when he is clean, 
when he is free from disease, and must therefore be pronounced clean. 
It is remarkable that in this summary the priest is simply said to be 
taught to discern the disease and to pronounce unclean or clean, ac- 
cording to its presence or absence. To heal is no part of his official 
duty. From first to last this is a religious ceremonial, though it has 
an important bearing on health. 

NOTES. 

4. Bird, liBS , small bird, sparrow, SpvlOiov ; r. chirp, twitter. 
Cedar, vna, >cefy>os, cedar, but supposed to denote the juniper in 
Homer and in Theophrastus. crimson, nsbiin ^3U5 , shining, or dyed 
with the worm. The worm is the coccus insect : k€kAwct/x€vov kokklvov, 
crimson yarn. Hyssop, ntx ', va-aio-rros. These words are evidently the 
same, the plant and name having come from the East. 

21. Poor, V'n , hanging, dependent. 

31. With, bs , upon. As the burnt-sacrifice in this case is a dove 
or pigeon, it may be placed on the flour. But the preposition may 
denote mere concomitancy. 

37. Strakes, tVwiIggti , sinkings ; r. l&g (F.) or SptU (Ges.), sink, 
he hollow. " At work." See Penny Cyc, art. Dry-rot ; Duns, Bib. 
Nat. Sci. p. 109 ; Brit, and For. Evang. Review xlvii. Bib. Bot. 

49. Purge, Ktsin. This verb may have different objects. When 
the victim is its object it means to offer for sin (vi. 19). When the 
party for whom the victim is offered is its object it strictly means to 
expiate sin in or for. When the symbol of purification as well as that 
of expiation is expressed or implied, as in the present case, it may be 
rendered purge or deliver from the bondage as well as the guilt of sin. 

57. When he is unclean and when he is clean ; literally, in the day 
of the unclean and in the day of the clean. 



LEVITICUS XV. 1-8. 195 



XV. THE LAW OF ISSUES. 



XV. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, say- 
ing, 2. Speak unto the sons of Israel, and say unto them, When 
any man hath an issue from his flesh, in his issue he is unclean. 
3. And this is his uncleanness in his issue : whether his flesh 
run with his issue or his flesh stop from his issue, it is his 
uncleanness. 4. Every bed on which he that hath the issue 
lieth is unclean, and every seat on which he sitteth is unclean. 

5. And he that toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes and 
wash himself with water, and be unclean until the even. 

6. And he that sitteth on the seat on which he that hath the 
issue sat shall wash his clothes and wash himself with water, 

This chapter contains one communication, which is made to Moses 
and Aaron together, by whom it is to be conveyed to the people. It 
is on the subject of issues which involve uncleanness. It gives direc- 
tions concerning an issue to which men are liable (1-15), the seed of 
cohabitation (16-18), the monthly secretion of women (19-24), and 
a bloody flux in women (25-30), followed by a conclusion (31-33). 

1-15. An issue of the flesh. 2. Hath an issue, literally, is flowing 
or discharging, denoting a continuous flux. From his flesh, that is, 
from his body. This does not define the nature of the issue, nor the 
source of it, but leaves it in its generality, where we ought also to 
leave it. Even the distinction of sex is not here to be pressed. 
There are many diseases common to both sexes, which are character- 
ised by a discharge of some kind. In his issue he is unclean. This 
is the point in question. The malady is not otherwise regarded than 
as an occasion of uncleanness. 3. Whether his flesh run. This is 
descriptive of some complaint in which the flux is intermittent, and 
may stop for a time, though the disease remains unhealed. This may 
include blind piles and other diseases of an analogous kind. While 
the malady remains, without or with a discharge, the uncleanness 
continues. 4. Every bed. Every bed or seat used by him is unclean. 
5-8. He that touches his bed or his seat or his flesh or his spittle 



196 THE LAW OF ISSUES. 

and be unclean until the even. 7. And he that toucheth the 
flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes and 
wash himself with water, and be unclean until the even. 
8. And when he that hath the issue spitteth on him that is 
clean, then he shall wash his clothes and wash himself with 
water, and be unclean until the even. 9. And every saddle 
on which he that hath the issue rideth shall be unclean. 

10. And all that toucheth anything which was under him shall 
be unclean until the even ; and he that carrieth them shall 
wash his clothes and wash in water, and be unclean until the 
even. 11. And all, that he that hath the issue toucheth and 
hath not rinsed his hands in water, shall wash their clothes and 
wash in water, and be unclean until the even. 12. And the 
earthen vessel which he that hath the issue toucheth shall be 
broken; and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water. 
13. And when he that hath the issue is cleansed of his issue, 
then he shall count for him seven days for his cleansing, and 
wash his clothes and wash his flesh in fresh water, and be 
clean. 14. And on the eighth day he shall take for him two 

shall wash his clothes, wash himself with water, and be unclean until 
the evening. Wash himself. 5 This word is used to avoid the employ- 
ment of the word bathe, which implies immersion, a meaning which 
does not belong to the original word. 9. Tlte saddle 9 or litter or car- 
riage cushion on which he rides is unclean. 10. All that touch or 
carry anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. 

11. This verse implies that if he rinsed his hands in water his touch 
would not defile. 1 2. The earthen vessel which he touches must be 
broken, and the wooden vessel rinsed in water. 13. When he is 
restored to health he is to count seven days, as usual, for his cleansing; 
he is then to wash his clothes, wash himself with fresh water, and be 
clean. It is to be observed that the priest is not required to determine 
whether he be unclean, as in the case of leprosy. The very fact of 
having an issue renders him unclean. 14. On the eighth day he is 



LEVITICUS XV. 14-16. 197 

doves or two pigeons, and come before the Lord to the door 
of the tent of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15. And 
the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin-sacrifice and the 
other for a burnt-sacrifice ; and the priest shall atone for him 
before the Lord for his issue. § 

16. And when a man's seed of copulation goeth from him 
then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until 

to bring an offering prescribed for the occasion. This was to be two 
doves or pigeons ; the one for a sin and the other for a burnt sacrifice. 
From this we learn that the issue was merely a cause of uncleanness, 
but did not exclude from the society of the church or the home. It 
did not occasion excommunication like the leprosy, and therefore 
the subject of it was not regarded as dead and restored to life again 
on account of his disease and recovery. Hence he had not to offer 
the asham or trespass-offering, as the ground of restoration to new 
life. This shows that the leprosy was regarded as the exactest type 
of sin, the wages of which is death, as recovery from it was the most 
striking emblem of the new birth and life everlasting. 15. Shall 
atone for him before the Lord. Bodily disease was the consequence 
of sin, and the outward uncleanness, therefore, symbolizes the inward 
or moral uncleanness. Hence the healed patient comes in humble 
faith and penitence to present his sin-sacrifice for inadvertent sin, and 
his burnt-sacrifice for that sin of his fallen nature and practice which has 
been brought to his knowledge, and through the gospel of mercy has 
awakened in him repentance and reliance on his God. The appointed 
priest of God meets him and mediates for him. His atonement is 
made, and he is once more visited with the peace and joy of salvation. 
16-18. Issue of seed of copulation. 16. Seed of copulation, literally, 
lying of seed. This Luther interprets to be the discharge of seed in 
sleep. But there is no such limit in the text. Neither is it deter- 
mined whether the discharge be involuntary or induced by impure 
volitions. The ceremonial consequence, merely, is stated. As the 
human race is corrupted by the fall, its propagation is inseparably 
connected with sin. Over and above this, all unchaste thoughts, 
words, and deeds are in themselves sinful. But these do not appear 



198 THE LAW OF ISSUES. 

the even. 17. And every garment and every skin on which 
the seed of copulation is shall be washed with water, and be 
unclean until the even. 18. And when a man lieth with a 
woman with seed of copulation, then shall they wash with 
water, and be unclean until the even. ^f 

19. And when a woman hath an issue, and her issue in her 
flesh is blood, seven days shall she be in her separation, and 
all that touch her shall be unclean until the even. 20. And 

to be intended in the present passage. The bare fact of a discharge 
of seed is all that is supposed. This is manifest from the intimation 
that the party concerned shall merely wash with water and be unclean 
until the evening. 17. The garment on which such discharge may 
come is unclean, and is made clean in the usual manner. 18. Natural 
and lawful cohabitation is attended with this temporary uncleanness. 
The cohabiting of the sexes in wedlock was not thereby rendered 
unlawful; as we know there were other lawful acts, such as per- 
forming the offices due to the dead, burning the red heifer (Num. 
xix.), which incurred such uncleanness. This is, however, the most 
striking indication in this chapter that there is a taint in the human 
race, originating with the fall of our first parents, and transmitting 
itself by descent from parent to child. Were it not for the promises 
of mercy, a thoughtful man would shrink from an act which would 
tend to perpetuate a degenerate race, with all its disastrous conse- 
quences. But the humble, penitent, earnest father and mother, who 
endeavor to train their child for God, may confidently expect the 
blessing of a new heart and a heavenly hope for their offspring. 
May God of his mercy give pious and faithful parents ! 

19-24. The monthly secretions of women. 19. Seven days. The 
healthy secretion of blood may not last so long. But since the 
purpose here is religious, as throughout all these regulations, the 
number of sacredness and perfection is chosen as usual. In her 
separation.™ This is by some rendered uncleanness. But this is 
only to confound it with other words, and the meaning separation, 
seclusion, or secretion is best suited to all the places in which it is 
found. 20-23. Not only all that touch her, but everything on which 



LEVITICUS XV. 20-26. 199 

everything on which she lieth in her separation is unclean, and 
everything on which she sitteth is unclean. 21. And whoso- 
ever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes and wash in water 
and be unclean until the even. 22. And whosoever toucheth 
anything on which she sitteth shall wash his clothes and wash 
in water, and be unclean until the even. 23. And if he touch 
that which is on the bed or on anything on which she sitteth, 
he shall be unclean until the even. 24. And if a man do lie 
with her, and her secretion be upon him, then he shall be 
unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lieth shall be 
unclean. § 

25. And when a woman hath an issue of her blood many 
days not in the time of her separation, or when it floweth after 
her separation, all the days of the issue of her uncleanness 
shall be as the days of her separation ; she shall be unclean. 
26. Every bed on which she lieth all the days of her issue 
shall be to her as the bed of her separation ; and everything 
on which she sitteth shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her 
separation. 27. And every one that toucheth them shall be 

she lies or sits, and every one that touches her bed or seat or any- 
thing on either is unclean. 24. Cohabiting with a woman in her 
flowers was a crime to be punished with excommunication (Lev. xx. 
18). If unintentional or accidental, however, the extreme penalty 
may not have been inflicted. The present passage, however, has to 
do not with the criminality, be the same more or less, but with the 
ceremonial defilement consequent upon the act. It involves unclean- 
ness which lasts for seven days, and extends to the bed on which 
he lies. 

25-31. Morbid secretions of women. 25. Many days. Two in- 
dications of disease are noticed here. First, the issue is not at the 
usual time of the monthlies ; and next, it lasts longer than the usual 
period of these. The same rule applies here as in the case of the 
natural secretion. The morbid issue renders unclean. 26, 27. Every 



200 THE LAW OF ISSUES. 

unclean, and shall wash his clothes and wash in water, and be 
unclean until the even. 28. And if she be cleansed of her 
issue, then she shall count for her seven days, and afterwards 
she shall be clean. 29. And on the eighth she shall take for 
her two doves or two pigeons, and bring them unto the priest 
to the door of the tent of meeting. 30. And the priest shall 
offer the one for a sin-sacrifice and the other for a burnt-sacri- 
fice ; and the priest shall atone for her before the Lord for the 
issue of her uncleanness. 31. And ye shall separate the sons 
of Israel from their uncleanness ; and they shall not die iii 
their uncleanness, by defiling my habitation that is among 
them. 

32. This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him 
whose seed comcth from him to defile him with it. 33. And 

bed or seat that she uses is unclean, and whatsoever touches them 
shall be unclean. 28. Seven days after her issue is healed, she shall 
be clean as before. 29. On the eighth day she is to offer the usual 
sacrifice. 30. And the priest shall make atonement for her. 31. Ye 
shall separate? 1 induce them to avoid all possible sources of unclean- 
ness and all occasions that lead to it. And they shall not die in 
their uncleanness. Death is the wages of sin, the moral uncleanness 
by which the soul is tainted. And the neglect of the divinely- 
appointed ordinances for the removal of ceremonial uncleanness was 
an offence involving the penalty of sin. By defiling my habitation 
that is among them. While they remain in their uncleanness, they 
cannot approach the holy dwelling of the Lord without defiling it, 
and constraining him to destroy them for their sins, or depart from 
the midst of them. 

32, 33. The recapitulation. The former of these verses refers to 
the first two cases of which the chapter treats. 33. The second has 
three clauses, of which the first refers to the third case, the ordinary 
monthly affection of adult females ; the second generalizes the un- 
healthy secretions, applying them to males, as well as to females, and 
thus referring to the first part of the chapter (1-15) and to the fourth 



LEVITICUS XV. 201 

of her that is sick in her flowers ; and of one that hath an issue 
for the male or the female ; and for the man who lieth with 
the unclean. * 29 ^ 1T 11 



case (25-27) ; and the third alludes to the case of a man lying with 
a woman in her sickness. The design of the generalization appears 
to be to intimate that the unhealthy secretions in the two sexes are 
parallel to one another, and hence its place in the summary. 

At the close of these three chapters it may be observed that those 
forms of disease are noticed which come to the surface, and therefore 
may cause defilement. These are divided into the dry or scabby, and 
the moist or running sores. The former include the leprosy and its 
kindred maladies ; the latter comprehend all running issues. Of these 
leprosy is the most virulent and deadly, and involves not merely un- 
cleanness, but excommunication. The others occasion only unclean- 
ness, and do not break up the social connection. In the five preceding 
chapters we have the various forms of natural uncleanness. They 
proceed in an orderly manner to the various animals, then to human 
birth, then to dry, cutaneous eruptions, and lastly to running sores. 
We shall meet with other sources of uncleanness ; but they are rather 
external than internal, accidental than natural. The distinction of 
animals and of men into clean and unclean rests ultimately not on 
physical, but on moral relations. All things in their right place and 
time and application are clean. Sin only has put things out of the 
proper time and place and use, and so given rise to the distinction 
into clean and unclean. As it has its seat in the fallen race of man, 
this race is the only earthly subject of moral impurity. And one 
essential element of human salvation must be to restore moral purity 
to the heart, and root out the impurity that has grown up in its place. 
These chapters present to our view the primeval elements of sancti- 
fication in a form suited to the then existing stage of human progress. 
We cannot read the history of God's ancient people without perceiving 
that in the hand of the Spirit of holiness they were capable of effecting 
a holy change in the heart, and calling forth the most sublime and 
affecting displays of enthusiasm in the cause of truth and charity, of 
good will towards men and piety towards God. And from the history 
26 



202 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

of divine revelation we learn that they embody the germs which are 
sure to be expanded with the expanding mind of man into the great 
immutable principles of a spiritual regeneration, of a new creation 
after the image of God. The most powerful and adventurous minds 
have gone astray in the evolution of these principles, whenever they 
have forgotten or forsaken the light of revealed truth and of the 
promised Spirit. And weaker minds have come equally short of 
their full and true development. But the humble learner, who 
searches the Scriptures and gives heed to the Spirit speaking in the 
heart, is born of God and walks in the light of salvation. 

NOTES. 

2. Having an issue, at , literally, flowing with the stream of disease. 

4. Seat, ib3 , a very general word, denoting anything made for a 
purpose, a utensil, article, vessel, instrument, and here, that which is 
used for sitting on, a divan, stool, block, or stone. 

5. Wash, pii, wash oneself, wash a chariot (1 Kings xxii. 38), 
wash thereout (Ex. xl. 31). D33 is the word generally applied to the 
washing of clothes. 

9. Saddle, 331?. . The Sept. here has ono-ay/Aa. The word occurs 
also in 1 Kings v. 6 and Cant. iii. 10. 

19. Separation, J113; r. 113, flee into seclusion. 

31. Separate, Dttifiri; cvAa/Sets 7roojo-€Te, docebitis, as if the word had 
been DFiimn . 



XVI. THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

This most remarkable chapter puts the crown of completeness 
upon the preceding fifteen chapters. The first seven relates to pro- 
pitiation in all its aspects. The next three narrate the consecration 
of the priest, the ordinance for which had been already put on record 
in Ex. xxix. We have thus the sacrifice and the priest, which rise 
into the higher unity of the Mediator who is both priest and sacrifice. 
The next five chapters refer to purification, both in its highest form 
of life from the dead, which is symbolized in the law of the leper, and 
in its lower forms of recovery from spiritual declension and progress 
in vital power, which are shadowed forth in the regulations concerning 



LEVITICUS XVI. 1, 2. 203 

XVI. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death 
of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord 
and died. 2. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto 
Aaron thy brother, and let him not go at all times into the 
holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon 
the ark, that he die not ; for in the cloud will I appear upon 

issues of various kinds. The chapter now before us combines the 
propitiation and the purification, which are the two great elements 
of salvation that flow from mercy, the fountain of all. It proceeds 
in three stages: the first containing the preparatory arrangements 
(1-10); the second furnishing the details of the sacrifice (11-28), 
which falls into two parts, relating to the bullock for himself and the 
first goat for the people (11-19), and the second goat for the people 
(20-18) ; and the third stage recording some particulars concerning 
the day (29-34). It is addressed to Moses after the death of the two 
sons of Aaron, and therefore after the consecration of the priests. It 
is to be communicated by him to Aaron, whom it concerns. 

1-10. The preparatory arrangements of the day of atonement. 
1. The date of this communication is here given. It is after the 
inauguration of the tabernacle service on the first day of the second 
year. 2. Speak unto Aaron. This ancient document is very exact 
in detailing every historical circumstance of that which it is important 
to authenticate. Aaron is here to be the agent, and hence the in- 
structions are to be conveyed to him. Let him not come at all times, 
at any time he may think fit. Within the veil. He comes into the 
holy place every day to trim the lamps on the golden candlestick. He 
draws nigh to the veil on the outside whenever he comes in with the 
blood of the sin-sacrifice (iv.). But he does not on these occasions 
go within the veil. Before the mercy-seat. 2 This is called in the 
original the propitiatory, the seat or throne where the Lord is pro- 
pitious to his people, the place of ultimate atonement in the very 
presence of the Lord. That he die not. Aaron, though consecrated 
high-priest, is still a fallible son of the fallen Adam. Hence he is in 
himself sinful and unfit to mediate between God and man. Nay, 
disobedience is as invariably connected with death as obedience with 



204 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

the mercy-seat. 3. With this shall Aaron go into the holy 
place : with a bullock of the herd for a sin-sacrifice and a ram 
for a burnt-sacrifice. 4. The holy linen coat he shall put on, 
and linen breeches shall be on his flesh, with a linen girdle 
shall he be girt, and be bound with a linen mitre : these are 
holy garments, and he shall wash his flesh in water and put 
them on. 5. And from the assembly of the sons of Israel he 
shall take two kids of the goats for a sin-sacrifice and one ram 



life. Sinful Aaron cannot come by himself into the immediate 
presence of the holy God. He must appear before him only at the 
appointed time and in the appointed way. In the cloud, the well- 
known cloud of the presence of the Lord, that went before the sons 
of Israel in their march from Egypt, appeared to them on the smoking 
mount, and, last of all, filled the holy place and consumed with fire 
the sacrifice on the altar. The unholy may not approach into the 
manifested presence of the Holy One, except at the call of mercy and 
in the path of atonement and regeneration. 3. With this shall Aaron 
go. He must enter with a sin-sacrifice and a burnt-sacrifice for 
himself, the former for inadvertent sin, and giving prominence to 
expiation ; the latter for the whole guilt of a past sinful character and 
conduct, and setting forth the plenitude of propitiation. 4. The holy 
linen garments and the washing with water are expressive of the 
righteousness and holiness that belong to the high-priest. At the 
same time it is to be observed that on this occasion the high-priest is 
formally to lay aside his glorious and golden attire, and put on the 
simple linen coat, girdle, and mitre. The linen breeches he is not 
said to put on, because they were always worn by the priest. There 
is a special significance in this change of raiment. The high-priest is 
here to be unadorned, as the emblem of the sin-victim which he is 
about to offer on this day of humiliation. He cannot be stripped of 
his integrity ; but as a sin-bearer he is divested of all his hereditary 
glory, and humbled to the grade of one doomed to attainder and death. 
5. And from the assembly. On this solemn day of national confession 
the victims for the people are of the same import as those for himself 



LEVITICUS XVI. 5-8. 205 

for a burnt-sacrifice. 6. And Aaron shall offer the bullock of 
the sin-sacrifice which is his own, and atone for himself and 
for his house. 7. And he shall take the two kids and place 
them before the Lord at the door. of the tent of meeting. 
8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats ; one lot for 
the Lord and one lot for the scape-goat. 9. And Aaron shall 

— two kids of the goats for a sin-sacrifice, and a ram for a burnt- 
offering. 6-10. The order of the sacrifice is now laid down in general, 
to be afterwards carried out in detail. Which is his own. He is first 
to present the bullock of the sin-sacrifice for himself and his house. 
The priestly family are on this occasion to stand over against the 
people, as one great party in this transaction with God. They must 
be themselves at peace with God, in order to mediate between him 
and the people. And atone, make propitiation for himself and his 
house. Nothing can more clearly show that there is a higher Mediator, 
whose intervention both he and the people need, in order to appear 
with acceptance before God. He is only a shadow of the substance 
to come. 7. Then follow the two kids of the sin-sacrifice for the 
people. These constitute one sin-sacrifice ; but two goats are re- 
quired to indicate all that is implied in this sacrifice. Place them 
before the Lord. This is preparatory to a simple distinction to be 
made between them for the ends of this peculiar sin-sacrifice. 8. Aaron 
shall cast lots. This shows the perfect equality of the two goats as 
representatives, and intimates the unity of that which is represented. 
One lot for the Lord. The goat on which this lot fell was to be 
offered in sacrifice unto the Lord. And one lot for the scape-goat? 
This is simply the goat that is to go away, escaping from death into 
the wilderness ; a meaning which is suggested and sustained by the 
text. As the question to be determined by the lot is, who is to have 
the life, the scape-goat is naturally opposed to the Lord, inasmuch as 
he has the one life, while it has the other. And, as we have already 
seen, the victim, here merely shadowed forth by the goat, must be a 
divine person, and therefore not unsuitably matched with the Lord. 
This simple explanation has the superlative advantage of being level 
to the capacity of the common mind, while it is perfectly suitable to 



206 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

offer the goat on which fell the lot for the Lord and make it a 
sin-sacrifice. 10. And the goat on which fell the lot for the 
scape-goat shall be placed alive before the Lord to atone upon 
it, to send it for a scape-goat into the wilderness. 

11. And Aaron shall offer the bullock of the sin-sacrifice 
which is his own, and atone for himself and for his house ; 
and he shall slay the bullock of the sin-sacrifice which is his 
own. 12. And he shall take a censerful of coals of fire from 



the context. 9. The goat on which the Lord's lot falls is to be offered 
for sin. 10. The other is to be set before the Lord to bear its part in 
this peculiar sin-sacrifice. To atone upon it. 10 This phrase is parallel 
to that in Ex. xxx. 10, and is explained by the process described in 
vs. 21. The goat is an instrument or a sufferer in the work of 
making atonement. To send it for a scape-goat. This explains the 
part it has in accomplishing the atonement. The shedding of blood 
has already taken place. The sending away of the sin-bearer is now 
effected. This will receive its full explanation in vs. 21, 22. Into 
the wilderness, beyond the camp, the dwelling-place of the saints who 
are in communion with God. This makes more clear the condition 
and destiny of the scape-goat. With the sin of the people upon it, it 
is dismissed from the region of blessedness, that those for whom it 
suffers may escape the penalty of disobedience. 

11-28. The sacrifices for sin. The solemnity of the occasion is 
indicated by the measured stateliness of the narrative, which now 
takes a new start to describe with fitting minuteness the transactions 
of this unique day. 11. And Aaron shall offer. He is now actually 
to proceed with the offering of the sin-sacrifice for himself. Which is 
his own, as distinct from that of the people. And atone for himself 
and for his house. The reiteration of this statement makes the con- 
viction still more emphatic that Aaron himself needs a higher and a 
better Mediator, who needeth not to offer up sacrifice first for his own 
sins. And he shall slay. As he is in this case the offerer, it is his 
part, by himself or his minister, to slay the victim. 12. The process 
now described is peculiar to the day. Take a censerful. The censer 



LEVITICUS XVI. 12-14. 207 

the altar before the Lord, and his handsful of incense of spices 
beaten small, and bring within the veil. 13. And he shall 
put the incense on the fire before the Lord ; and the cloud 
of incense shall cover the mercy-seat that is over the testi- 
mony, that he die not. 14. And he shall take of the blood of 
the bullock, and spatter with his finger upon the mercy-seat 

was employed on other occasions ; but at no other time was it to be 
taken within the veil. It was a very sacred act to offer incense, and 
proper only to the priest in the appointed way (See Ex. xxx. 9 ; 
Lev. x. 1). Fire from the altar, from the consecrated hearth of God. 
And his handsful™ the full of the palms spread out and curved for 
the purpose of holding. Incense of spices 12 beaten small. Spices of a 
pleasant smell are beaten into small parts, in order to burn the better 
and give forth their scent more freely. Bring within the veil. The 
peculiarity here is that on this occasion only, throughout the whole 
year, the high-priest is permitted to go within the veil into the imme- 
diate presence of God. 13. The incense. This is the very highest 
and purest symbol of that part of propitiation which is called inter- 
cession, and therefore of prayer. On the fire. As the high-priest 
alone went in, he must have taken in the censer of live coals and the 
spices himself. By putting his handsful of spices into a tray or 
basket, it was possible for him to take in all at once. He then put 
the incense on the fire. It is not really inconsistent with the direc- 
tions, however, that he should have put the incense on the coals even 
before passing within the veil. The putting on of the incense is then 
noticed in this verse simply to bring it into immediate connection 
with its intended effect. The cloud of incense shall cover the mercy- 
seat. This is the effect. The covering of the mercy-seat with the 
cloud of incense is at the same time the covering of Aaron himself 
by the propitiation made and pleaded. Over the testimony, the two 
tables of the law which were deposited in the ark (Ex. xxv. 16). 
That he die not, being sheltered and saved by the propitiation which 
stands between him and the doom of death. 14. He shall take of the 
blood. The blood alone truly expiates. For it is the life of one 
given for another. And spatter with his finger. This is the actual 



208 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

eastward, and before the mercy-seat shall he spatter seven 
times of the blood with his finger. 15. And he shall slay the 
goat of the sin-sacrifice which is the people's, and bring its 
blood within the veil ; and he shall do with its blood as he did 
with the blood of the bullock, and spatter it on the mercy-seat 
and before the mercy-seat. 16. And he shall atone for the 
holy place from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and from 

offering of the blood to the Lord and application of it to the penitent. 
The Lord accepts the death of the substitute, and remits the death of 
the sinner for whom he has died. On the mercy-seat eastward, that is, 
on the front of it. This appears to indicate the front of the ark and 
of the mercy-seat over it ; the two constituting one whole. The blood 
is then spattered seven times before, that is on the ground in front of, 
the mercy-seat. The mercy-seat is here the altar of ultimate resort. 
See on iv. 6. The seven times denote a perfect application, as usual. 
This finishes the priest's offering for his own sin within the veil. The 
further application of the blood will be subsequently mentioned. 

15-19. The first goat of the sin-sacrifice for the people. 15. And 
he shall slay. On this solemn anniversary the high-priest or his min- 
ister may have slain the victim for the sin of the congregation; 
though the text does not make this interpretation necessary. Ex- 
perience of the style of this book teaches us that we may supply the 
suitable subject where none is expressed, even though the following 
verb require a different one. And bring its blood within the veil, to 
be applied in precisely the same way as that of the bullock. 16. And 
he shall atone. A peculiar turn is now given to the mode of descrip- 
tion, quite distinct from all that has gone before, and only intelligible 
after the preceding chapters on the clean and the unclean. The 
atonement now made is for the people, because the goat that has 
been slain is part of their sin-sacrifice. But in another aspect of it 
another effect is produced. For the holy place. The holy place is in 
this verse distinguished from the tent of meeting. Hence we learn 
that in this context it means the holy of holies, or most holy place 
within the veil. In the solemn rite performed within the veil with 
the blood of the bullock and of the goat atonement has been made for 



LEVITICUS XVI. 16. 209 

their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do to 
the tent of meeting that dwelleth with them amidst their 
uncleanness. 17. And no man shall be in the tent of meeting 

the most holy place. This has been actually desecrated by the im- 
perfect priesthood and people among whom it has been placed, and 
needs an atonement. From the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, the 
uncleanness which they convey to that which abides among them. 
And from their transgressions in all their sins. The uncleanness was 
the taint of sin. ". Their transgressions " points to the guilt of sin. The 
transgressions occasion the uncleanness, and the uncleanness betrays 
the transgression. Where sin has spread its demerit and defilement 
an atonement is needed. There was imperfection and impurity in 
the whole body of the people, by which the sanctuary was defiled. 
And hence it appears that the offering of the blood of bulls and of 
lambs would have been a labor in vain, had it not been a shadow of 
a really perfect sacrifice and an all-sufficient propitiation that was tp 
come. To atone, then, for the holy place, purging it by the blood of 
a sin-sacrifice from the uncleanness and iniquity of the whole people, 
is simply another way of expressing an atonement for the high-priest 
and his house and the whole congregation by the same sin-sacrifice and 
the self-same rite. This plainly appears from a comparison of vs. 11, 
14, 15, and 16. It is also to be noted in this pregnant sentence that 
the contaminating and condemning effects of sin are brought together. 
This- is in keeping with a day of repentance, as well as expiation, and 
with a chapter that knits together the treatises on propitiation and 
purification. And so shall he do to the tent of meeting. This we con- 
ceive must mean, as the rabbis understand it, that the same spattering, 
of blood was to be made on the horns of the golden altar and before 
the veil, as described in iv. 6, 7, which had been made on and before 
the mercy-seat. The tent of meeting, as distinguished from the holy 
of holies, must mean the apartment without the veil, where were the 
golden candlestick, the table of show-bread, and the altar of incense. 
If the most holy place needed atonement, much more the holy place 
or tent of meeting, into which the priest entered every day. That 
dwelleth 16 with them amidst their uncleanness. The moral unelean- 
27 



i 



210 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT 

when he goeth in to atone in the holy place, until he come 
out ; and he shall atone for himself and for his house and for 
all the congregation of Israel. 18. And he shall come out 
unto the altar that is before the Lord and atone for it ; and 
shall take of the blood of the bullock and of the blood of the 
goat, and put on the horns of the altar around. 19. And he 
shall spatter upon it of the blood with his finger seven times, 

ness is sin in its nature and contaminating power, which has been so 
strikingly illustrated in the preceding chapters. Atonement for the 
contamination which it conveys to all around, and so to the tent of 
meeting, as well as the holy place. 17. And no man shall be in the 
tent. No man was competent to take part in making atonement. 
For all had sinned and come short of the glory of God ; and even if 
not, all were creatures, and therefore dependent, and owing all to 
their Creator. Only the Holy One, of whom the high-priest is in 
all respects the divinely-appointed type, can make a propitiation for 
sin. When he goeth in to atone in the holy place. The high-priest 
alone, of course, enters the holy place within the veil. But from the 
preceding words it appears that no one is to be in the tent of meeting 
without the veil during the time of making atonement within the veil. 
Until he come out. The whole period is very carefully marked off, as 
the whole work is to be completed by the high-priest alone. 18, 19. He 
thall come out unto the altar that is before the Lord. This is the third 
application of the atoning blood. The court of the tabernacle is in 
still closer contact with the great body of the people, who enter it for 
the purpose of sacrificial worship. The altar here spoken of is the 
altar of burnt-sacrifice, as is plainly indicated by his coming out to it. 
It is before the Lord, as it is before the door of the tabernacle, where 
he dwells. And atone for it. Here, for the third time, expiation is 
to be made by putting of the blood of the bullock and the goat on all 
the horns of the altar, and by spattering on it seven times. By this 
means the court which has its centre in the outermost altar is expiated. 
In this way there was a threefold sprinkling in a twofold mode on 
the day of atonement — at the mercy-seat within the veil, at the altar 
of incense without the veil, and on the altar of sacrifice without the 



LEVITICUS XVI. 18-21. 211 

and he shall cleanse it and hallow it from the un cleanness of 
the sons of Israel. 

20. And he shall make an end of atoning for the holy place 
and for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall 
present the live goat. 21. And Aaron shall lay his two hands 
upon the head of the live goat, and shall confess over it all the 
iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in 

curtain at the door of the tent of meeting. The last is the place of 
sacrifice ; the intermediate, the place of intercession ; and the first the 
place of fellowship. The twofold mode of applying the blood points 
to a twofold need of expiation ; the spattering of the blood seven 
times, like the sprinkling of it round the altar, refers to atonement 
directly for the worshipper ; the spattering of it once, like the putting 
of it on the horns of the altar, appears to be a propitiation for the 
altar itself, that it may avail for the worshipper. Hence there was 
propitiation here, not only for the priests and people, but also for the 
holy things which they had defiled by their sins. He shall cleanse 
it and hallow it. As a good deed begets gratitude in a rightly con- 
stituted heart, so expiation, the best of all good deeds, begets re- 
pentance and all the kindred affections of an undeceived spirit. This 
state of mind has its reflection in the mirror of surrounding things. 
And hence the expiated altar is cleansed and hallowed. The hal- 
lowing is simply the exponent of the cleansing. As the altars can 
have no guilt or impurity in themselves, except in their relation with 
guilty man, as soon as the repentant worshipper presents the sacrifice 
that atones for his sin, the altar is not only expiated, but hallowed. 

20-28. The scape-goat. 20. And he shall make an end. One 
stage of this day's proceedings, described in the preceding passage, is 
to be brought to a close before the next begins. Atoning for the holy 
place and for the tent of meeting and for the altar. This recapitula- 
tion shows that the three objects mentioned are co-ordinate in this 
process of atonement. Present the live goat. The verb here is that 
usually rendered offer. Offering does not necessarily imply the 
slaughter of that which is offered. 21. Lay his two hands. There 
is emphasis and solemnity in laying on both hands. Confess over it, 



212 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

all their sins, and shall put them upon the head of the goat, 
and send it away by the hand of a set man into the wilderness. 
22. And the goat shall bear upon it all their iniquities to a 
land of excision ; and he shall send the goat into the wilder- 

as the victim that was to suffer for the things confessed, and take 
them and their consequences away from the transgressor. All the 
iniquities, 21 violations of law demanding expiation. All their trans- 
gressions, 21 wrongs done to others demanding redress. These two 
elements concur in all sins ; sometimes the one being prominent, 
sometimes the other. The former is the main characteristic of sin. 
Put them upon the head of, impute or lay them to the account of. 
And send it away, bearing the iniquity of the whole congregation. A 
set 21 man, a man ready for the task at the appointed time. Into the 
wilderness, beyond the limits of the holy community. 22. Bear upon 
it all their iniquities. This is correlative to the phrase, " Hath laid 
on him the iniquity of all." It is a clear case of imputation and 
substitution- To a land of excision, 22 a land of excommunication, 
away from the presence and view of the judge. This live goat merely 
represents the one self-same victim in a new condition, which the slain 
goat was no longer fitted to exhibit. The victim after death is gone 
to the place of banishment from God, where it still exists, bearing 
the perpetual doom of sin. This serves to illustrate the wider 
meaning of death in Scripture, which is not annihilation, but a state 
of ill-fare, in contrast with life, which is a state of welfare, not termi- 
nated, but only fully entered upon, at the separation of soul and body. 
As the animal slain and consumed, partly on the altar and partly on 
the place of ashes, could not represent this essential element of penal 
death, its second self is' introduced to signalize it in a definite and 
emphatic manner. But another aspect of saving truth is, at the same 
time, no less clearly illustrated. The one goat represents the death 
of the substitute for the expiation of sin; the other sets forth the 
concurrent removal of sin from the object of the divine mercy into 
the land of forgetfulness, so that it can never come into remembrance 
against him any more. The one act is involved in the other ; but it 
cannot be presented fully to the mind in a figure without a double 



LEVITICUS XVI. 22-24. 213 

ness. 23. And Aaron shall go into the tent of meeting, and 
he shall strip off the linen clothes which he put on when he 
went into the holy place and leave them there. 24. And he 
shall wash his flesh with water in a holy place and put on his 
garments ; and he shall come forth and offer his burnt-sacrifice 
and the burnt-sacrifice of the people, and atone for himself 

victim. This duplication of the goat for a sin-sacrifice cannot but 
remind us of the duplication of the bird in the case of the healed leper. 
There is a marked difference between them. The latter contains an 
allusion to the leper reviving from the mortal disease, and exhibits 
propitiation inseparably associated with expiation. The slain bird 
represents the death of the substitute because he bears the sin of 
another ; the live bird, the resurrection of the substitute because he 
has fulfilled all righteousness. The two, therefore, combine to exhibit 
the Redeemer bearing death and earning life for the sinner. This 
involves the resurrection, and introduces naturally the trespass -offering, 
of which it is a striking precursor. The goat, in the former case, is 
a sin-sacrifice, and its duplication merely symbolizes the two effects 
of the sin-sacrifice — the death for sin and the coincident removal of 
the penalty forever from the object of the divine forgiveness. 

23-25. These verses give the occupation of Aaron, while the set 
man is sending off the scape-goat. Shall go into the tent of meeting. 
Having sent away this man, he has completed the sacrifice for sin, 
which is characteristic of this day, he is to go once more into the tent 
of meeting. It is probable, as the rabbis say, that he now brings 
away the censer on which the incense was burning. But this, being 
a matter of no consequence, is not mentioned, and the return into the 
tabernacle, if merely for this purpose, would probably have been left 
unnoticed. The main reason for this return is that which is stated 
in the text, to take off the linen garments, and put on the splendid 
robes of the high-priest. This act, from the care with which it is 
stated, is shown to be not merely incidental, but, on the other hand, 
highly significant. The expiation has now been accomplished. He 
who has made it was all through perfect in holiness and righteousness, 
and now that it is finished is entitled on the ground of his unblemished 



214 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

and for the people. 25. And the fat of the sin-sacrifice he 
shall burn upon the altar. 26. And he that sent off the goat 
for a scape-goat shall wash his clothes and wash his flesh with 
water ; and afterwards he shall come into the camp. 27. And 
the bullock for sin and the goat for sin, whose blood was 
brought in to atone in the holy place, shall one carry out of 
the camp ; and they shall burn with fire their skins and their 
flesh and their dung. 28. And he that burneth them shall 

integrity to the rewards and honors of perfect obedience. He is, 
therefore, directed to assume the robes of the just and holy one. 
This is a fitting act to take place in his Father's house. Accordingly, 
he is to enter, strip off the mitre, girdle, and coat, the garb of lowli- 
ness and destitution, and leave them there, never, the rabbis say, to be 
resumed ; but it may be to be resumed only the next year. 24. He 
shall there wash his flesh, namely, his hands and feet, with water, 
thereby cleansing himself from the ceremonial uncleanness of the sin- 
victim ; in a holy place, some place convenient to the laver appointed 
for the purpose, and put on his state garments, and come forth, no 
longer as the lowly sufferer, but as the exalted mediator of the new 
covenant. He is now to offer the burnt-sacrifice for himself and for 
the people. And atone for himself and for the people. This sacrifice 
denotes propitiation or atonement in the fullest sense, including not 
only the bearing of the penalty, but the rendering of the obedience 
for those who are represented. 25. The fat of the sin- sacrifice. The 
burning of this is only another symbol of propitiation. If the descrip- 
tion here be strictly chronological, the fat of the sin-sacrifice is burned 
on the altar after and upon the burnt-sacrifice ; a hint of the paramount 
importance of the burnt-sacrifice. 26. And he that sent off. The set 
man who has led away the goat with the sins of the people upon it is 
defiled by contact with the bearer of sin, and is to make the cus- 
tomary ablutions before he returns into the camp. 27. And the 
hullock for sin. The victims for sin, inasmuch as their blood has 
been brought into the sanctuary for atonement (Lev. vi. 23), are to 
be carried without the camp to the place of ashes, and there consumed 
by fire. 28. And he that burneth them, being thereby defiled, shall 



LEVITICUS XVI. 28, 29. 215 

wash his clothes and wash his flesh with water, and afterwards 
he shall come into the camp. 

29. And it shall be unto you a statute forever : in the seventh 
month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your 

make the usual ablutions before returning into the camp. This at 
length completes the history of the sacrifices for sin on this unparal- 
leled day. We learn, thus, the whole of that which is implied in the 
sacrifice for sin. The prominent point is expiation for sin, denoted 
by the blood, the burning of the body in the place of ashes, and the 
exile of the scape-goat. The blood denotes death, the penalty of sin 
or disobedience to the Author of our being. The burning denotes 
destruction, or the defeat of all the proper ends of being. The exile 
denotes the second death, or the experience of the perpetual sufferings 
of a just doom. When all these befall the substitute, the object of the 
divine mercy is redeemed, or released from the penalty of sin. Less 
prominent in the sin-sacrifice is propitiation, the necessary con- 
comitant of expiation, which is indicated, however, by the burning of 
the fat on the altar. This stands in the background in the present 
rite. We can now estimate the striking contrast between the sin- 
sacrifice and the trespass-offering. The former is the sin-bearer for 
another, and therefore dies, bears the destruction of all the hopes 
of life, and enters upon the experience of the second death, shadow- 
ing forth in vivid detail the equivalent of suffering which the substitute 
has to bear. The latter is the right-doer for another, who therefore, 
though he die for him, yet earns and rises to eternal life and liberty, 
exhibiting in an equally striking figure the resurrection unto life of 
the Mediator who has died and lived for others. Here death is 
necessary, as before ; but it falls into the shade behind the glory of 
the resurrection. Expiation must precede ; but it wanes before the 
surpassing excellence of propitiation. 

29-34. The day of celebration and the perpetuity of the ordinance. 
29. A statute forever, lasting as long as the present economy continues 
in form, and throughout all generations and ages in principle. When 
the substance comes the shadows will flee away. In the seventh month. 
According to Josephus (Antiq. i. 3, 3) this was the first month of the 



216 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

souls, and do no work, the home-born and the stranger that 
sojourneth among you. 30. For on this day shall he atone 

year in the order of the calendar existing before the exodus from 
Egypt (Ex. xii. 2), and of the civil year even after that event. The 
state of nature described in Gen. ii. 6, the numeration of the month 
in the history of the deluge (Gen. vii. 11) and the out-going and 
turn of the year (Ex. xxiii. 16 ; xxxiv. 22), corroborate this tradition. 
As the sacred year began exactly six months after the other, the first 
month of the civil year was the seventh of the sacred year. The 
special observances connected with the first day of the seventh month 
favor the supposition that it was the old new year's day of Israel. 
On the tenth. The festival of the atonement is naturally suited to be 
the initial rite Of a new life. The civil year of the holy people is 
consecrated to God, and this ordinance was well fitted to express this 
thought. Why the tenth day was selected we are not informed. If 
the fall of man took place on the tenth day it would afford an adequate 
reason for fixing on this day. Those who mark coincidences will 
observe that the paschal lamb was set apart on the tenth day of the 
first month (Ex. xii. 3). Ye shall afflict your souls. The soul is 
pre-eminently the susceptible part of man's nature. To afflict the 
soul is to give free scope to the convictions of sin and to the shame, 
sorrow, and indignation which it awakens. The revelation of the 
mercy of God in the gospel of the Old Testament was the only thing 
fitted to awaken repentance in the sensitive conscience of the sinner. 
This gospel of promise is not only announced in words, but symbolized 
in all possible forms in the ceremonial of Leviticus. The more clearly 
the sinner apprehends the mercy of God, announced in this manifold 
way, the more keenly will he feel the exceeding sinfulness of sin. 
And the more fully he comprehends that God has provided a victim 
and a priest to satisfy justice in order that he might be at liberty to 
show mercy, the more deep and contrite will be his repentance 
towards him. It is worthy of note that the Spirit of truth in the un- 
affected simplicity of a primeval time dwells on the state of the soul 
alone, and condescends on no outward manifestations of the inward 
feeling. The rabbis and doctors interpret affliction of soul by fasting, 
because such was the formal mode in their day. A deep sense of 



LEVITICUS XVI. 30, 31. 217 

for you to cleanse you ; from all your sins before the Lord ye 
shall be cleansed. 31. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, 

sorrow for sin will naturally lead to abstinence from the delicacies 
of the table and even from food altogether for a season. But it is 
to be remembered that the sorrow of the heart is the only genuine 
repentance, and that outward fastings and other forms will only be an 
abominable hypocrisy where that is wanting. And do no work. This 
was to be a strict sabbath, as is stated in vs. 31. This is a more 
genuine and trustworthy effect of heart-sorrow than formal fasting. 
The home-born and the stranger. We here incidentally learn that 
the sons of Israel were to welcome the stranger of another race to 
their home and to their God. (See Ex. xii. 49.) 30. For on this 
day, shall he atone for you. The expiation for sin was to be made on 
this day in the grandest and most comprehensive form. To cleanse 
you. The affliction of the soul, the right disposition in which the 
worshipper entered upon the appointed ordinance, the repentance, 
trust, gratitude, and devotion which the thought of its import called 
forth, was the indication of a cleansed heart. And therefore, as in 
the case of the healed leper, the priest by the very offering of the 
atoning sacrifice for the penitent congregation pronounced them 
clean. It is remarkable that no symbol of purification is enjoined on 
this occasion, because the reality itself is enjoined in the affliction of 
soul which was to be manifested on this day. Thus the day of atone- 
ment combined purification with propitiation, and this chapter unites 
the seven chapters on sacrifice to the five on cleansing by the inter- 
vening three on the priest. From all your sins before the Lord. 
The sins of his own people are in a peculiar sense before the Lord, 
because they dwell in his presence, and the light of his countenance 
is upon them. 31.-4 sabbath of rest. This phrase is twice applied 
to the day of atonement (here and in xxiii. 32), and once to the sab- 
batical year (xxv. 4), but elsewhere only to the weekly sabbath. It 
denotes resting from all work, servile or other than servile. The day 
of atonement is therefore the only day agreeing with the weekly 
sabbath in entire abstinence from work. It differs from it, however, 
as strikingly in being a day of affliction, while the weekly sabbath 
was a day of rejoicing. The fifty-two sabbaths of gladness, instituted 



218 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever. 32. And 
the priest, whom he shall anoint and whose hand he shall 
fill to be priest in his father's stead, shall atone ; and he shall 
put on the linen garments, the garments of holiness. 33. And 
he shall atone for the holy of holies, and he shall atone for the 
tent of meeting and for the altar ; and he shall atone for the 

before the fall, are a pleasing indication that man was originally 
designed for holiness and happiness. The one anniversary sabbath 
of penitence is an humbling token of his fallen state. Ye shall afflict 
your souls. The text of the divine law is moderate in demanding 
only the one day of humiliation throughout the year. Its assertion 
of the fundamental principles of moral rectitude and announcement 
of the merciful provision of an atonement were alone fitted to awaken 
this feeling. 32. The priest whom he shall anoint, whom the proper 
party, not here mentioned, shall anoint and consecrate to the office of 
the priesthood. This has reference to the perpetuity of the statute 
for the day of atonement. The perpetuity of the high-priesthood 
provides for the perpetual observance of the ordinance. He shall put 
on the linen garments. The mention of this regulation here shows 
the deep significance of it. The high-priest is to be afflicted in the 
affliction of his people. But above all he is to be the sin-bearer, and 
as such to make himself of no reputation, to be numbered with the 
transgressors, and pour out his soul unto death in the form of the 
victim. The garments of holiness. Amidst all his humiliation and 
debasement it is never to be forgotton that he is holy and without 
blemish, and pre-eminently so in that act in which he bare the sins 
of many. 33. Atone for the holy of holies. These figures of the true 
holy places are all defiled with sin, for they came from the hands of 
man, and are in daily contact with human things. Hence they need 
the great and true and only propitiation to atone for them. And for 
the priests and for all the people. Not only the holy places, but the 
priests themselves need atonement, since they are but men of like 
passions and infirmities with all their fallen race. They cannot then 
be the real mediators. Along with the priests, as it is put here, 
atonement is made for the people ; and the self-same victims that 



LEVITICUS XVI. 32-34. 219 

priests and for all the people of the congregation. 34. And 
this shall be to you a statute forever, to atone for the sons of 
Israel from all their sins once a year. And he did as the 
Lord commanded Moses. 



atone for priest and people in the very same act atone for the holy 
places. Atonement for the one is atonement for the other. 34. A 
statute forever. For the third time this is repeated in order to impress 
upon priest and people the necessity of the perpetual celebration of 
this anniversary ordinance. To atone for the sons of Israel from all 
their sins. Atonement is one thing needful for salvation ; affliction 
of soul is another ; the mercy of God is the third, or rather the first, 
from which the others flow. Atonement is the theme of this chapter 
from first to last. Once a year. It is thus at one and the same time 
a type of the one all-sufficient atonement and by its annual recurrence 
a witness to its own intrinsic inefficacy. And he did. Aaron did as 
the Lord commanded Moses, by abstaining from entering the holy of 
holies within the vail in the intervening time between one tenth 
of the seventh month and another, and of course, when the set time 
came by entering in the prescribed manner. The compliance with 
the negative part of the command is all that is to be done at present. 
This completes the third section and the first part of the Book of 
Leviticus. In this sole anniversary of humiliation and soul-affliction 
the prominent part of atonement is expiation, and the leading sacrifice 
is that of the victim for sin. This is quite in accordance with a day 
in which the guilt of sin as an offence against holiness is brought to 
remembrance. The profound significance of the sin-sacrifice is here 
brought to light by expanding the ordinance into an elaborate detail, 
and by reduplicating the victim in order to give a complete analysis 
of its effect. Hence we are made to see with our eyes that death 
taketh away sin. Sin is on this day the burden of the afflicted soul ; 
the taking away of sin the relief given by the main victim of the day. 
But while the special nature and effect of the sin-sacrifice is thus 
made conspicuous, it is incidentally taught that expiation is never 
parted from propitiation. The fat of the sin-victim is burned upon 
the altar; this is always a symbol of propitiation. The expiatory 



220 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

nature of the sin-sacrifice is further indicated by the severe simplicity 
of the priestly dress on this occasion. This is quite in harmony with 
the endurance of the penal consequences of sin, but not with receiving 
the honorable rewards of obedience. The day is not closed however, 
without assigning its due place to the propitiatory sacrifice. After 
the expiation has been made, with all solemnity of form, the priest 
resumes his robes of state and offers the burnt sacrifice for himself 
and the people. This is the symbol of the great propitiation, by 
which the penitent worshipper is not only delivered from the wrath 
to come, but restored to the grace and glory of the eternal inheritance. 
This chapter fitly closes the present section. It speaks of uncleanness, 
the uncleanness of the congregation of Israel, the uncleanness of 
which that of the beast of the field, the woman that has borne a child, 
the leper, or the patient that has an issue, is only a figure. It enjoins, 
in the presence of the only constraining motives, the obligation of the 
moral law and the expiation provided for sin, affliction of soul, expres- 
sive of humble and confiding repentance toward God, which is the 
removal of the moral disease and the return of spiritual health. And 
it thereupon prescribes the appropriate offerings for priest and people 
on their recovery from the malady of the will and their restoration to 
the cleanness of the heart. And in the offering of these sacrifices the 
high-priest is authorized to pronounce them clean. This is the top- 
stone to the doctrine of the clean and the unclean. The present 
section unites the first sixteen chapters into a compact whole. In it 
we have uncleanness involving guilt. While we have the agent of all 
spiritual cleansing plainly indicated in the oil and the water, we have 
also the means of all atonement for sin brought forward in the priest 
discerning the disease, recognizing the recovery, and offering the 
sacrifices which make atonement. The priest and the victim are one 
mediator. The water and the oil are one sanctifier. And above all 
is the one God of mercy and Father of all, the great Forgiver, from 
whom come the Redeemer and the Regenerator. These sixteen 
chapters, with their seventeen or eighteen divine communications, are 
made really one by the marvellous combining power of their inspired 
compiler. 



LEVITICUS XVI. 221 

NOTES. 

2. Mercy-seat, tvnfcs, l\a<mfjpiov, propitiatorium. 

8. Scape-goat, Vrxts, obviously, goat departing, going away: Sept., 
d7T07ro/A7ratos, ct? t^j/ a7roTro[Airqv V. 10, €t? a<f}€<riv V. 26 : vulg. caper 
emissarius ; Mishna, nVnili^ Wtt) ; Joseph. airorpoTnaxryi6<s. All these 
explanations have the advantages of simplicity and consistency. They 
suggest two ideas, that the goat is sent away, emissarius, and that it 
bears sin away, a7roT/oo7riaoyAos. These harmonize with the whole 
text. The former, however, is the prominent idea in the name. In 
proceeding to investigate the meaning of a term occurring only four 
times, and all in the one context, we must abide by the principle that it 
must be something simple and obvious to the minds of the people. 
This excludes from consideration all interpretations that have their 
rise in a vain philosophy and a still more delusive mythology. Azazel 
cannot be a place, because this would be no proper contrast to the 
Lord in v. 8, and moreover rTna^En in v. 10, sufficiently indicates the 
place. It cannot mean the devil or any evil demon, because we have 
not the slightest hint of such a meaning in the text, nor even in the 
Sept. or Josephus ; and surmises of such a meaning in the later writ- 
ings, such as the book of Enoch, and the Rabbinical, Patristic, and 
Mahometan literature are mere subjective fancies, on which the inter- 
preter cannot lay any stress. Besides the goat is placed before the 
Lord to atone upon it, and this is quite at variance with being after- 
wards sent to an evil spirit. The only other meaning is the scape- 
goat, and this alone is suitable. Patrick saw no objection to this 
rendering but the one, that T3> is feminine. But this objection does 
not hold, as the word is properly masculine (Lev. iii. 12 ; xxii. 27), 
though inclusive of the feminine. 

10. To atone upon it, ^by 'iQaV* This usually means to atone for 
him or it. But the passage quoted in the text clearly shows it is 
capable of the other meaning. And "to atone for it" cannot be 
applied to the goat, but only to the people, an antecedent so remote as 
to seem harsh, though it gives the meaning of the passage. 

12. Handsful, fc^sn &6». The full of the gowpens in old English 
phrase. The word occurs six times. Spices, d^iab , aromatic plants 
scenting the air. 



222 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

16. Abiding, "jsiiJ. From this is formed the Rabbinic term waw ex- 
pressing the glory of the Lord dwelling above the mercy-seat in the 
holy of holies. 

21. Iniquities, rtto, dvo/juW Transgressions, d^ffiB, ahi*. tas. set, 
*P8 . timely, provided for the occasion : croi/xos. 

22. Excision, njj», cutting off; a/Soros, a land from which there is 
no return. 



SECTION IV.— RULES CONCERNING CIYIL MATTERS. 

XVn. CONCERNING ANIMAL FOOD. 

XVII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and 
say unto them, This is the thing which the Lord hath com- 
manded, saying, 3. Any man of the house of Israel that slay- 
eth an ox or sheen or poat in the camp, or that slayeth it out- 

The following eleven chapters form the second part of Leviticus. 
As the former part relates to the birth of the nation as a spiritual 
commonwealth, so the present part relates to the progress of their 
social life as the people of God. Four chapters treat of civil affairs ; 
four, of religious ; and the remaining three of matters having both a 
civil and a religious bearing. The present section includes the first 
four chapters, which refer to animal food, chastity, holiness, and the 
penalties by which many of the preceding regulations are to be en- 
forced. The seventeenth chapter relates to animal food, and regulates 
the slaughter of oxen and small cattle (1-7) and the use to be made 
of blood (8-16). It is addressed to Moses, by whom it is to be com- 
municated to the priests and to all Israel. 

1-7. Oxen and small cattle to be slain only at the altar. 1, 2. The 
minute, circumstantial details of these introductory verses are quite 
suitable and requisite in documents that are historical and legal. The 
commands received from the Lord must be duly attested. 3. Any 
man of the house of Israel. This is expressly limited to the house 
of Israel. In the camp. The definition in the camp, or outside the 
camp, limits this regulation in its present form still further to the 
temporary arrangements of the wilderness, while the people were in 
camp, a state of things which might have terminated in another year. 

223 



224 CONCERNING ANIMAL FOOD. 

side of the camp, 4. And bringeth it not to the door of the 
tent of meeting to make an offering to the Lord before the 
tabernacle of the Lord, blood shall be counted to that man ; 
he hath shed blood ; and that man shall be cut off from among 
his people : 5. To the end that the sons of Israel may bring 
their sacrifices which they are making in the open field, and 
bring them to the Lord to the door of the tent of meeting 
unto the priest, and offer them as sacrifices of peace unto the 
Lord. 6. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the 
altar of the Lord at the door of the tent of meeting, and burn 

4. And bringeth it not. The slaying of these animals is not forbidden. 
Only, so long as they are in the wilderness, it is to be performed at 
the door of the tent of meeting. To make an offering. This seems 
to imply that no animal was to be slain for food without presenting 
an offering to the Lord. But, from what follows, it may simply apply 
to the slaying of animals of which it was the custom of the people to 
make some part an offering. It is not improbable that this was the 
general custom, which had grown up among them in Egypt. It was 
not the custom, however, of their ancestors. Abram had a calf killed 
and dressed to entertain his guests (Gen. xviii. 7) without any trace 
of such a custom. Blood shall be counted to that man. This favors 
the view that slaying for sacrifice in an unlawful way is the thing 
here forbidden. The blood which is set apart for atonement, and so 
for deliverance from death, avails for man's life. To misapply it, or 
apply it in an unlawful way or to an idolatrous purpose, is to destroy 
life, and thus to shed blood. Hence it is said he hath shed blood, which 
is the life of man, as it should have served for expiation. Hence this 
man is to be excommunicated. 5. To the end. The end of the prohi- 
bition is here stated. The sons of* Israel are in the habit of making 
their sacrifices in the open field. Before the setting up of a national 
altar this was allowable, provided the offerings were made to the true 
God. But now their sacrifices are to be brought to the door of the 
tent of meeting, and presented as sacrifices of peace unto the Lord. 
This, also, leans to the idea that the slaying for sacrifice elsewhere is 



LEVITICUS XVII. 7, 8. . 225 

the fat for a sweet smell unto the Lord. 7. And they shall no 
more offer their sacrifices to the he-goats, after whom they lust. 
This shall be a statute for ever unto them for their generations. 
8. And thou shalt say unto them, any man of the house 
of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn among you, who 
offereth a burnt-sacrifice or a sacrifice, 9. And bringeth it 

here forbidden. 7. When they are offered as peace-sacrifices, the 
blood is sprinkled on the altar, and the fat is. burned for a sweet 
smell, and the rest is at the disposal of the owner. In the ordinary 
sacrifice of peace, the wave-breast and the heave-leg (Lev. vii. 34) 
were assigned to the priests. The altar of the Lord is contrasted with 
any other place, and also with the altar of any false god. 7. The 
further end of the prohibition appears in this verse. Some of the 
people were privately sacrificing to false gods. 7. The he-goats. They 
had contracted this habit in Egypt, where the goat was an object of 
worship (Joseph, cont. Ap. 27). It was called Mendes, corresponding 
to Pan, was reckoned among the eight principal gods, and was wor- 
shipped in Lower Egypt, particularly in the Mendesian Nome, which 
was not far from Goshen. The Israelties were therefore acquainted 
with this form of idolatry. After which they lust. The breach of the 
seventh commandment is the standing figure for idolatry, as lawful 
wedlock is the favorite emblem of the worship of the true God. The 
prohibition, then, is designed to counteract the false training of Egypt. 
A statute forever. To offer sacrifice no more to idols of any kind is a 
perpetual statute. The mode in which animal food is to be lawfully 
used will vary with the circumstances of the people (See Deut. xii.). 

8-16. Regulations concerning other sacrifice and concerning blood. 
And thou shalt say unto them. This is the second part of this message. 
It begins with a similar prohibition to offer either burnt-sacrifice or 
peace-offering anywhere but at the altar of God, under pain of excom- 
munication. This is directed against any sacrifice to the true God 
being offered elsewhere than at the national altar ; whereas the former 
prohibition was mainly against sacrificing to false gods. This regula- 
tion also, extends not only to Israel, but to the stranger who sojourns 
with him, and becomes a proselyte to the worship of the true God. 



226 CONCERNING ANIMAL FOOD. 

not unto the door of the tent of meeting to offer it unto the 
Lord, even that man shall be cut off from his people. 10. And 
any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn 
among them, who eateth any blood, I will even set my face 
against the soul that eateth the blood, and will cut him off 
from among his people. 11. For the soul of the flesh is in 
the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to atone 

Strangers who were still aliens from the commonwealth of Israel do not 
come under its regulations, and hence they are not included in the 
former prohibition which was only for those who professed to have 
forsaken idolatry. 10. Then follows the vehement denunciation of 
the Israelite or the proselyte that eats blood. The eating of blood 
was forbidden as early as the days of Noah (Gen. ix. 4). It is re- 
peated in Lev. vii. 26, 27. It is here in place among a series of regu- 
lations concerning food. I will even set my face, oppose and reject. 
Against the soul, the voluntary agent, who is susceptible of pleasure 
as well as of pain. The term appears to be used here on purpose in 
contrast with the soul or vital principle of the animal. Cut him off, 
by the act of the lawful authorities or by a special visitation. 11. The 
reason of this stern prohibition is now given. The soul of the flesh is 
in the blood. The soul is the vital principle that has desire, will, and 
activity as its prominent qualities, which corresponds with the will 
and its kindred powers in the human soul. In this department of the 
human spirit lies the moral faculty, by which it is capable of obedience 
or disobedience and conscious of right and wrong. The soul of the 
flesh is that which gives life to the flesh. This is said to be in the 
blood, because it is so intimately connected with the circulating blood 
that it leaves the flesh or the body and ceases to animate it whenever 
the blood is shed. This is the preliminary fact establishing the essen- 
tial connection of the blood with the soul. On this rests the mystical 
or moral fact conveyed in the words, " I have given it to you upon the 
altar to atone for your souls." This fact is called mystical because it 
springs from the purpose and exists in the determination of God that 
so it should be. And it is moral, inasmuch as the soul of the victim 
is given for the soul of the redeemed. This is the principle of sub- 



LEVITICUS xvn. 11-15. 227 

for your souls ; for it is the blood that atoneth for the soul. 

12. Therefore I have said unto the sons of Israel, No soul of 
you shall eat blood, nor shall the stranger that sojourneth 
among you eat blood. 13. And any man of the sons of Israel 
or of the strangers that sojourn among you who hunteth any 
beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood 
and cover it with dust. 14. For in the soul of all flesh, its 
blood is in its soul ; and I said unto the 'sons of Israel, ye shall 
not eat the blood of any flesh ; for the soul of all flesh is its 
blood : all that eat of it shall be cut off. 15. And every soul 
that eateth a dead or a torn body, be he home-born or stranger, 
he shall wash his clothes and wash in water and be unclean 
until the even : then shall he be clean. 16. And if he wash 
them not, nor wash his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity, ^f 

stitution, which lies at the root of the scheme of salvation revealed in 
the book of God. The soul of the victim is in the blood. The blood 
is therefore to be scrupulously withdrawn from any unworthy or in- 
ferior use. "We see here the close relationship between the repre- 
sentative and the represented. The soul of man is the spirit regarded 
as the seat of desire, of will, and therefore of conscience. The soul 
of the brute is pre-eminently the seat of appetite and will. The will 
is that part of the vital principle which is most closely connected with 
the blood. Hence the blood is the life "which atoneth for the soul" 
of man. 12. Hence the prohibition, " no soul of you shall eat blood." 

13. Who hunteth any beast or fowl. The blood of any animal that 
may be eaten, but cannot be offered in sacrifice, is to be poured on 
the ground and covered with dust. 14. For in the soul of all flesh. 
The reason assigned for this is the universality of the fact that the 
blood is in the soul of all flesh. The phrase is remarkable. The 
blood is so intimately connected with the soul, that the removal of the 
blood is the removal of the soul from the flesh. 15. Eateth a dead or 
a torn body. That which has died of itself or is torn by wild beasts 
is not to be eaten, because the blood has not been properly drained 
from it, and it is defiling. He that partakes of it unwittingly is to 



228 ON CHASTITY. 

wash his clothes, wash himself with water, and be unclean until the 
evening. If he do not, he shall bear his iniquity. According to 
Ex. xxii. 30, that which was torn was to be cast to the dogs. 

The deep import of the law concerning blood here comes out in all 
its force. It is not merely that the soul or the life is in the blood, 
but that in consequence of this natural connection the blood has been 
given of God to atone for him whose life is forfeited through sin. 
But even the blood of the inferior animal is only a type of that blood 
which expiates the guil£ of sin, and the contemplation of which by 
intelligent faith cleanses from its defilement. Only the blood of a 
Mediator, who is not only human but divine, can outweigh in intrinsic 
value the whole human race, and afford an all-sufficient atonement. 

NOTE. 

7. He-goats, owip , hairy creatures ; fxaraioi, vanities, idols. 



XVm. ON CHASTITY. 

After purity of diet comes purity of sexual intercourse, which is 
regulated in the present chapter. It contains an admonition to avoid 
the evil customs of other nations (1-5), a statute determining the 
degrees of kindred that are too near for chaste wedlock (6-17), a pro- 
hibition of other kinds of incest (18-23), and a warning to beware of 
defiling the land which was to be given to them as their predecessors 
had done (24-30). The revelation which it makes is addressed to 
Moses, who is to communicate it to the people whom it concerns. In 
this and the following two chapters frequent reference is made to the 
land in which the people were about to be settled. 

1-5. An admonition to avoid the vile customs of other nations. 
2. lam the Lord your God ; a sentence of never-to-be-forgotten signifi- 
cance. The Lord, Jehovah, the Self-existent, the Author of all existing 
things, the Performer of promise, is entitled by the very highest right 
to command. Tour God. Here the word " your " is emphatic. It 
implies two things of the utmost personal interest to those addressed : 
first, the Lord had chosen them to be his people, and second, being 
moved by the word and by the Spirit of the Lord, they had chosen 
him to be their God. God is here the only living Almighty, in con- 



LEVITICUS XVIII. 1-5. 229 

XVIII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, I am the Lord your 
God. 3. After the doing of the land of Mizraim, wherein ye 
dwelt, shall ye not do ; and after the doing of the land of 
Kenaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do, nor walk in 
their statutes. 4. My judgments ye shall do and my statutes 
ye shall keep, to walk in them : I am the Lord your God. 
5. And ye shall keep my statutes and my judgments ; which 
the man that doeth shall live in them : I am the Lord. § 

trast with all that falsely claim or receive the title. It is necessary to 
bring these sublime and solemnizing thoughts before the minds of this 
new-born people, when it is proposed to wean them from the weak 
and beggarly elements on which they have been tempted in the past 
or may be enticed in the future to rely. 3. The doing of the land of 
Mizraim. The people have to beware of a twofold evil, that of han- 
kering after the corrupt customs of Egypt, which they have just left 
behind, and that of falling into the equally vile practices of the land 
of Kenaan, to which they are advancing. The iniquity of the Amo- 
rites was now full, after a growth of four hundred years. Whither I 
bring you, not to follow their example, but to be the instrument of 
their extirpation from the land. 4. My judgments, judicial sentences, 
affirming the duty of the people, and usually accompanied with an in- 
timation of the good or evil consequent upon compliance or non-com- 
pliance. My, in contrast with those of the surrounding nations and 
their false gods. My statutes, edicts or decrees, established and pub- 
lished as customs or institutions of the people of God. To walk in 
them, make them the constant ruling motive of your conduct. I am 
the Lord your God. When we consider the transition from bondage 
to liberty, from compulsion to responsibility, from promise to posses- 
sion, through which this infant people were now passing, we begin to 
understand the frequent reiteration of the absolute supremacy of the 
true God, and of the covenant of grace and peace subsisting between 
him and them. It needed all the strength of faith to realize the 
peculiar relation in which they stood., and to resist old and new 
temptations. 5. Which the man that doeth shall live in them. The 



230 0N CHASTITY. 

6. No man of you shall approach unto any one near of kin 
to him to uncover the nakedness : I am the Lord. § 7. The 
nakedness of thy father or the nakedness of thy mother thou 
shalt not uncover : she is thy mother ; thou shalt not uncover 
her nakedness. § 8. The nakedness of thy father's wife thou 
shalt not uncover : it is thy father's nakedness. § 9. The 

law says, Do this and thou shalt live. Eternal life is the reward of 
perfect obedience. But all men have sinned and come short of the 
glory of God. The statutes and judgments, however, to which the 
men of Israel are here invited to hearken, contain a message of mercy 
and peace, and hold out an atonement for sin. He has said to them, 
I am the Lord your God, and they have responded to his call and 
accepted his promise. This is their life. Being pardoned and 
accepted they are exhorted, and by grace enabled, to walk worthy of 
their new-born faith in God and repentance toward him. I am the 
Lord. This one name, the Creator of all that I purpose, is the secure 
resting-place of faith and the supreme ground of obedience. 

6-17. The degrees of kindred that are too near for lawful wedlock. 
6. This verse contains the general principle, enforced by the. authority 
from which there is no, appeal : lam the Lord. Any one near ofkin. s 
Share, or flesh of flesh, is used to denote a relative who partakes of the 
game flesh. To uncover the nakedness. This phrase for cohabitation 
is designedly used to denote an act which is to be condemned as in- 
cestuous. As carnal intercourse without the bond of wedlock is 
condemned by the seventh commandment, these precepts must be 
understood to prohibit marriage within the degrees of kinsmanship 
here mentioned. A man is not to wed his mother, father's wife, 
sister by either parent, granddaughter, sister by the father who has 
married a second time, aunt by either side, wife of father's brother, 
daughter-in-law, brother's wife, wife's daughter, or granddaughter. It 
is to be presumed that the law applies to the female as well as the 
male ; and hence a woman is not to wed her father, and so on through- 
out. 7. The nakedness of thy father. This intimates that the law 
applies to the female as well as the male, changing what needs to be 
changed 8. It is thy father's nakedness, according to the principle 



LEVITICUS XVHI. 9-17. 231 

nakedness of thy sister, thy father's daughter or thy mother's 
daughter, born at home or born abroad, thou shalt not uncover 
their nakedness. § 10. The nakedness of thy son's daughter 
or of thy daughter's daughter thou shalt not uncover their 
nakedness ; for they are thine own nakedness. § 11. The 
nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, 
being thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. § 
12. The nakedness of thy father's sister thou shalt not un- 
cover ; she is near of kin to thy father. § 13. The nakedness 
of thy mother's sister thou shalt not uncover ; for she is near 
of kin to thy mother. § 14. The nakedness of thy father's 
brother thou shalt not uncover: his wife thou shalt not 
approach ; she is thy aunt. § 15. The nakedness of thy 
daughter-in-law thou shalt not uncover ; she is thy son's wife ; 
thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. § 16. The nakedness 
of thy brother's wife thou shalt not uncover; she is thy 
brother's nakedness. § 17. The nakedness of a woman and 



that husband and wife are one flesh. 9. Born at home or born 
abroad. Birth abroad, or in another home, would most likely take 
place when the mother having married again would pass into a home 
where her daughter by a former husband was not born. 10. For they 
are thine own nakedness. As this holds good of granddaughters, so 
much more of daughters. The latter case is involved in vs. 7, and 
does not need any further expression. 11. This case might come 
under vs. 9. It refers to a younger half-sister, while an elder half-sister 
is included in the verse quoted. 12, 13. These verses include the 
aunt on both sides. 14. This by parity of reason may be extended to 
a mother's brother's wife. 16. This is subject to the exception of the 
wife of a brother who has died childless, according to the custom re- 
cognized in Deut. xxv. 5-10. 17. The daughter or granddaughter of 
a former wife is excluded. The reason assigned is, she is near of kin. 
The sister of a former wife is excluded on the same ground, even 
if their connection were not prohibited by vs. 16. It is lewdness} 7 



232 ON CHASTITY. 

her daughter thou shalt not uncover ; her son's daughter or 
her daughter's daughter thou shalt not take to uncover her 
nakedness ; they are near of kin ; it is lewdness. 

18. And a woman unto her sister thou shalt not take, by 
constraint to uncover her nakedness with her in her life. 

The connection here in question is pronounced to be wicked and re- 
pugnant to right feeling. Thus the general principle stated in the 
sixth verse is expanded into ten clauses, which being fairly interpreted 
will include every needful case. The observance of these rules pro- 
tects the sanctity and peace of the home, and guards against the 
licentious manners of the surrounding nations. 

18-23. A prohibition of some other kinds of incest. 18. And a 
woman unto her sister 18 thou shalt not take. The literal meaning of 
these words is here given. The Hebrew scholar is aware that this is 
a usual phrase for " one to another." The case of a sister-in-law is, 
by parity of relation, settled in verse 16. It is to be understood, 
therefore, that this verse forbids the taking of a second wife while the 
first is living. So the Karaites understood it. This is borne out by 
the context. By constraint. It is, in general, an act of unkindness 
and hardship to the first wife. The one is an adversary to the other 
(1 Sam. i. 6), a rival in the husband's affections, and therefore in 
influence over his conduct. With her, along with her, and conse- 
quently against her, as indeed it might fairly be rendered. In her life. 
This leaves it open to a man to marry another wife after the death of 
the former. At the same time it is not to be denied, as Patrick and 
others reason, that polygamy was practised, the practice noticed, and 
certain regulations founded on the practice in Scripture. Jacob and 
Elkanah, the latter a Levite, had each two wives, and several kings 
had more than one. It was enacted that the eldest son should have 
the rights of primogeniture, though his mother were the less favored 
of two wives (Deut. xxi. 15), and the rights of the former wife should 
be guaranteed (Ex. xxi. 10). But it is to be replied that Jacob's case 
was before the law, that no penalty is imposed in chap. xx. on this 
particular infringement of the law, that kings are forbidden to multiply 
wives (Deut. xvii. 17), and that the regulations do not give any 



LEVITICUS XVHI. 18-23. 233 

19. And unto a woman in her separation by her uncleanness 
thou shalt not approach to uncover her nakedness. 20. And 
with thy neighbor's wife thou shalt not lie carnally, to be 
defiled with her. 21. And of thy seed thou shalt not give 
to pass through for Molek, nor shalt thou profane the name of 
thy God : I am the Lord. 22. And with a male thou shalt 
not lie as with a woman ; it is abomination. 23. And thou 

countenance or allowance to the connection, which was simply toler- 
ated and occasionally formed. After forbidding the practice the sin- 
gular moderation of the legislative system is shown in not imposing a 
penalty on this offence. It simply guarded the rights of the first wife 
and her offspring. 19. This enactment needs no elucidation except a 
reference to xv. 24. 20. This is simply one form of the seventh com- 
mandment. 21. Passing through for Molek. 21 Idolatry is a spiritual 
adultery (xvii. 7, and elsewhere). Passing of their seed through the 
fire in honor of Molek was an idolatrous custom of the Kenaanites, 
whose country the Israelites were going to possess. They needed 
therefore to be specially warned against this form of idolatry. Molek 
was the idol of the Phoenicians and Ammonites having some resem- 
blance to the Greek Kronos. It is probable from this passage that there 
was obscenity as well as cruelty practised in his worship. Passing chil- 
dren through the fire was supposed by some of the rabbis and fathers 
to be a kind of lustration by which they were devoted to Molek. But 
from Ps. cvi. 38 ; Jer. vii. 3 ; Ezek. xvi. 20, it is plain that at least at 
a late period children were burned as victims to the idol. Diodorus 
Siculus describes the Carthaginian Kronos as a brazen statue, which 
was heated red, and the child was placed in its arms and so destroyed 
with great torture, the priests meanwhile drowning its screams by the 
beating of drums. Molek was considered to be akin to Baal. Nor 
shalt thou profane the name of thy God, by assigning it to an idol, an 
imaginary being of the most impure and inhuman propensities. I am 
the Lord is the closing watchword here, once more impressing upon 
the minds of the people the present fact that the lawgiver is the one 
true, living God of all authority and power. 22, 23. These are the 



234 ON CHASTITY. 

shalt not lie with any beast to be defiled with it ; nor shall a 
woman stand before a beast to cohabit with it ; it is pollution. 
24. Defile not yourselves with any of these; for with all 
these are the nations defiled which I cast out before you. 
25. And the land was defiled ; and I visited its iniquity upon 
it, and the land spued out its inhabitants. 26. But ye shall 
keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not do any of 
these abominations, the home-born nor the stranger that 
sojourneth among you. 27. For all these abominations the 
men of the land who were before you have done ; and the land 
is defiled. 28. And the land shall not spue you out when ye 
defile it, as it spued out the nation that was before you. 
29. For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, the 
souls that do so shall be cut off from among their people. 

two sins of Sodom, the one of which is declared to be an abomination, 22 
and the other a pollution. 23 

24-30. A warning against defiling the land by unnatural crimes. 
24. Defile not yourselves. Sin is the only real defilement. With all 
these are the nations defiled. This is the reason for specifying these 
revolting crimes. The people are warned against them while their 
hearts are still unbiassed, before they see and become familiarized 
with them, and so fall into them. Which I cast out before you, which 
I am about to cast out. Such is the force of the original. 25. And 
the land was defiled. The crime was completed and past. And I 
visited its iniquity. The visitation in its beginnings, at least, was 
actually past. And the land spued out. This is a strong figure taken 
from the action of an over-burdened stomach rejecting its contents. 
So this land was already beginning to be depopulated. The hornet 
(Ex. xxiii. 28) and the diseases consequent upon a grossly immoral 
life were already at work. 26. The home-born nor the stranger. 
From the frequent mention of the stranger it is obvious that prose- 
lytes to the true God were expected and welcomed. 27, 28. As it 
spued out. This may be literally rendered, as it will have spued out. 
The future perfect describes an event in the future as completed. 






LEVITICUS XIX. 235 

30. And ye shall keep my charge not to do any of the abomi- 
nable customs, which were done before you, and ye shall not 
defile yourselves with them : I am the Lord your God. 

so irirf 

29, 30. Shall be cut off. Exclusion from the commonwealth of Israel 
is the natural consequence of defying the God of Israel. Te shall 
keep my charge, the charge of his sanctuary, of his law and his promise, 
as the seed of Abraham in which all the families of the earth were to 
be blessed. This solemn admonition is now concluded with the never- 
to-be-forgotten word of power: lam the Lord. 

NOTES. 

6. Near of kin, i^ba nxd, oixctos o-api<6s. The root, *ikio , signifies 
to be over, remain over. The lexicons give the meaning to swell or 
grow, in order to arrive at flesh as the meaning of the noun. But what 
is over may just as readily come to signify flesh and kindred. 

17. Lewdness, fTST, plot, evil device; do-e/fy/Ao, impiety; r. lie in 
wait, plan evil. 

18. Thus in Ex. xxvi. 3 it is said, five curtains shall be coupled one 
to another Pirhirbx •*&&, woman to her sister, and so in vs. 5, 6, 17. 
See also Gen. xiii. 11 ; xxvi. 31. 

21. Molek, T^an, the King; apxwv in this passage. The article is 
always prefixed. This is a profanation of the name king, as Baal is 
of master or lord. 

22. Abomination, narhft, an object of abhorrence; ySSeXvytwx. 

23. Pollution, ban, confusion, unnatural mixture ; fxvo-apov. 



XIX. ON HOLINESS. 

This chapter treats of holiness as the character of the people of Gou. 
It states the general principle and enters into a variety of details 
suggested by the circumstances and immediate prospects of the people. 
They are in communion with God (1-8), in the communion of saints 
(9-22), and are about to be in a land of holiness (23-32), and visited 



236 0N HOLINESS. 

XIX. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto all the assembly of the sons of Israel, and say unto them, 
Ye shall be holy ; for I the Lord your God am holy. 3. Ye 
shall fear each man his father and his mother, and keep my 



by strangers (33-37). And each of these relations brings out a series 
of duties peculiar to itself. The communication is made to Moses and 
concerns the whole assembly of the children of Israel. 

1-8. The assembly in communion with God. 2. All the assembly 
are concerned in this duty. Ye shall be holy. This is the general 
principle. The reason follows. For I the Lord your God am holy. 
Two reasons at least wrapped up in this. First, the Author of your 
being is holy ; and the stream should taste of the fountain. Second, 
the covenant of grace implied in the terms "the Lord your God" 
forms the most powerful motive to holiness. Other reasons are im- 
plied. Reason binds you to be holy ; a sanctified reason enforces the 
obligation by new motives. 3. Two main pillars of holiness are now 
adduced. These are, fearing parents and keeping the sabbath. They 
are associated here as they are in the decalogue, where they unite the 
first and second tables of the law — our duty to God and our duty to 
man. Reverence to parents is the foundation of all piety and equity. 
Up to the years of discretion the parent is in the place of God to the 
child. Reverence for the parents and their faithful lessons will 
beget reverence for God in the heart. In like manner if we truly 
respect the parents, we must esteem the children, and these are our 
brothers and sisters of the whole human family. The sabbath is the 
appointed season of rest from labor, of leisure for holy converse, of 
convocation for religious instruction and worship in all our dwelling- 
places. It is, therefore, man's highest honor and holiest privilege. 
Its retrospect is God, the Author of man ; its prospect is God, the End 
of man. The sabbath then is the fountain of all social religion, peace, 
purity, and liberty. In the eyes of him who inspired the legislator it 
stands on a par with obedience to parents, among the very pinnacles 
of holiness. And the history of Jew and Christian corroborates the 
sentence that lays honor to parents and the keeping of the sabbath at 
the foundation of all morality and religion. The watchword is, as usual, 



LEVITICUS XIX. 3-8. 237 

sabbaths : I am the Lord your God. 4. Turn ye not to idols, 
and molten gods make not for you : I am the Lord your God. 
5. And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace unto the Lord, for 
your acceptance ye shall offer it. 6. It shall be eaten on the 
day that ye offer it and on the morrow ; and that which is left 
till the third day shall be burned with fire. 7. And if it be 
eaten at all on the third day, it is a foul thing ; it shall not be 
accepted. 8. And he that eateth it shall bear his iniquity ; 

" I am the Lord your God." This infant people need to have this 
fundamental principle of all piety reiterated, until it is indelibly 
impressed on the mind. 4. Turn ye not to idols. This is the coun- 
terpart of the former verse. As the one presented the positive, the 
other presents the negative side of holiness. To have other objects 
of worship than the one true God, or to have a false notion of what 
God really is, forms the sandy foundation of all error, disappointment, 
and irretrievable ruin. False gods and molten gods refer to the 
first and second commandments : they are not to be regarded or made. 
The watchword comes in here again with great point and force. 5-8. 
A sacrifice of peace. As the fear of parents and the keeping of the 
sabbath are selected as the corner-stone of all morality, so the sac- 
rifice of peace is set forth as the sum and crown of all worship. The 
burnt-sacrifice presents the great all-sufficient atonement ; the oblation 
is merely an accompaniment or attendant ; the sin-sacrifice sets forth 
expiation, and the trespass-offering propitiation for a sin of inadvertance. 
The sacrifice of peace presupposes all this. It is the symbol and 
medium of fellowship with God. It implies that the people have 
already accepted the atonement ; which is the beginning of all prac- 
tical holiness. Hence it is the only sacrifice suitable to be introduced 
here. For your acceptance. The child of faith and penitence must 
ever plead the propitiatory sacrifice as the ground of his acceptance. 
And the peace-offering includes the blood that expiates and the fat that 
propitiates, as well as the flesh that constitutes the banquet of love 
and holiness. The particulars here repeated have been already 
noticed in vii. 16-18 and are inserted here in a new connection for 
the sake of emphasis. He hath profaned the holy thing 8 of the Lord* 



238 ON HOLINESS. 

for he hath profaned the holy thing of the Lord : and that 
soul shall be cut off from his people. 

9. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt 
not wholly reap the corner of thy field nor gather the gleaning 
of thy harvest. 10. And thy vineyard thou shalt not glean 
nor gather the leavings of thy vineyard ; to the poor and to 
the stranger thou shalt leave them : I am the Lord your God. 
11. Ye shall not steal, nor deny, nor lie one to another. 
I 12. And ye shall not swear by my name to a lie, nor profane 
the name of thy God : I am the Lord. Thou shalt not oppress 
thy neighbor nor rob him, nor shalt thou keep the wages of a 
hireling with thee till the morning. 14. Thou shalt not speak 
ill of the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind; 

The holy thing may here be preserved in its generality, as it in- 
cludes both the sanctuary and the sacrifice. By the third day decom- 
position has set in, and the flesh is no longer fresh or fit for represent- 
ing that which is holy. The great propitiatory victim did not see 
corruption, as life returned on the third day* 

9-22. Holiness in communion with the saints. 9, 10. Charitable 
consideration for the poor. Thou shalt. From the plural the law- 
giver passes to the singular to enforce individual responsibility. Not 
wholly reap the corner of thy field. Thou art not to be exact about 
the borders of thy field, or the stray stalks that are forgotten, or a 
grape here and there on thy vine. Leave them to the poor or the 
stranger. The solemn watchword is then added. The Lord seeth 
and regardeth. 11, 12. From charity he passes to verity. Among 
the saints there is to be no stealing, denying a trust, lying, swearing 
to a lie, or otherwise taking God's name in vain. The reason is de- 
cisive : " I am the Lord." The significance of this sentence is never 
to be forgotten or unheeded. 13, 14. From verity the legislator pro- 
ceeds to probity of conduct. Overbearing in its leading forms is con- 
demned. Thou shalt not oppress, rob, or keep back wages earned. 
Speaking ill of the deaf, who cannot hear, and putting a stumbling- 
block in the way of the blind, who cannot see, are gratuitous and 



LEVITICUS XIX. 14-18. 239 

but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. 15. Thou 
shalt not do wrong in judgment, nor respect the person of the 
poor, nor honor the person of the great : in righteousness 
shalt thou judge thy neighbors. 16. Thou shalt not go about 
as a tale-bearer among thy people ; nor stand against the blood 
of thy neighbor : I am the Lord. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy 
brother in thy heart : thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, 
and not bear sin for him. 18. Thou shalt not avenge nor 

cowardly acts of mischief. The watchword here intimates that there 
is One who hears and sees, and will requite the wrong-doer and redress 
the wrong-sufferer. 15, 16. He now advances from the citizen to the 
magistrate, from private to judicial rectitude. The judge is not to do 
wrong in judgment, not to lean to the poor man nor to the rich, but 
to judge his neighbor in righteousness. This is a concise and compre- 
hensive summary of his duty. The tale-bearer and the false witness 
are here condemned. If the judge on the bench is to be incorruptible, 
the witness in the box is to be unimpeachable. The watchword here 
again reminds all of the inevitable day of final account. 17, 18. From 
outward manifestations of the moral disposition in word and deed the 
legislator now rises to the disposition itself. Hatred and revenge are 
here forbidden, and fidelity and love are enjoined. It is to be ob-' 
served that vengeance, or the vindication of the law, is proper to the 
magistrate, to whose duties reference is made in verse 15. Thou shalt 
surely rebuke thy neighbor. This is one of the most difficult tasks of 
friendship. Yet it is a duty of paramount importance and obligation. 
It is in fact the principle that binds us to preach the gospel of repent- 
ance and remission of sins to an ungodly world. It requires both 
prudence and grace to discharge it with effect. And not bear sin for 
him. If I do not warn my brother when the opportunity offers, I am 
to be blamed for want of truth and love. Nor watch for the children, 
watch for their halting or for the chance of retaliation. We have no 
moral standing here ; this belongs only to the magistrate who is 
bound to vindicate the law. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 
How simply and unaffectedly, without any blowing of trumpets, comes 
in this second of the two commandments on w r hich hang all the law 



240 0N HOLINESS. 

watch for the children of thy people ; but thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself : I am the Lord. 

19. My statutes ye shall keep. Thou shalt not let thy cattle 
gender of diverse kinds ; nor shalt thou sow thy field with 
seed of diverse kinds ; nor shall a garment of diverse kinds, 
linsey-woolsey, come upon thee. 20. And when a man lieth 
carnally with a woman that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a 
husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given to her, 
they shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because 
she was not free. 21. And he shall bring his trespass-offering 
unto the Lord to the door of the tent of meeting, a ram 
of trespass. 22. And the priest shall atone for him with 

and the prophets. This, as well as each of the preceding groups of 
two verses each, is followed by the appropriate and authoritative pro- 
clamation, "I am the Lord." 

19-22. These verses refer to unnatural connections. 19. Three 
such connections are here fordidden. Thy cattle gender of diverse 
kinds 19 . This is a monstrous confusion. The other two are mainly 
typical of that distinction of things that morally differ, which must 
characterize the holy. Linsey-woolsey, a web of which the weft and 
warp differ in kind. 20-22. Another illicit connection is here con- 
demned and its penalty declared. A bondmaid, one who is bound to 
a certain period of service. The position she -occupies is described in 
Ex. xxi. 7-10. Betrothed 20 to a husband, literally plucked off, sep- 
arated, not despised or rejected. Not at all redeemed, bought back 
from slavery. Nor freedom given to her, bestowed without payment. 
These were the two ways of being made free. They shall be scourged. 
Correction by scourging, which was limited to forty stripes, shall be 
administered. This applies to both as we learn from the following 
words, " they shall not be put to death." The Sept. also makes it 
plural. Because she was not free. Bondage was a disability arising 
from fault of some kind. The bondage diminished her responsibility, 
and her degradation lessened his blame. If a man lie with a free 
damsel that is betrothed, both are to die by stoning (Deut. xxii. 23, 24) 



LEVITICUS XIX. 21-25. 241 

the ram of trespass before the Lord for his sin which he 
hath done ; and he shall be forgiven for the sin which he 
hath done. If 

23. And when ye go into the land and plant every tree for 
food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as un circumcised ; 
three years shall it be uncircumcised to you ; it shall not be 
eaten. 24. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, 
a praise-offering to the Lord. 25. And in the fifth year shall 
ye eat the fruit of it to add unto you its increase : I am the 



If not betrothed, he is to marry her (Ex. xxii. 16 ; Deut. xxii. 29). 
His trespass-offering. The punishment has been inflicted in the way of 
scourging. As life has been spared, the trespass-offering, which rep- 
resents compensation or amends, or the righteousness which merits life, 
is to be made. Shall atone for him. While propitiation is in the 
foreground, expiation must be at least in the background ; and hence a 
complete atonement is made as far as the type is concerned. For his 
sin which he had done. It is the sin that demands expiation, and there 
is expiation whenever there is blood shed at the altar. And he shall 
be forgiven. The truly penitent who lays his hand on the atoning sac- 
rifice is always forgiven. 

23-32. Holiness in regard to the land. 23-25. The fruit-tree. 
When ye go into the land, the land of promise, to which the wanderers 
in the wilderness looked forward with hope. And plant. This regu- 
lation refers to young trees. Count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised, 
acknowledge its foreskin on its fruit, regard it as profane and unfit for 
use. This is a ceremonial arrangement as it stands in the book of 
the divine law ; but it falls in with botanical science, as the fruit for 
the first three years is inferior, and if the flower-buds be nipped the 
future fertility will be promoted. Three years. This is the number 
of perfection. In the fourth year,' it is fit for use. Holy, a praise- 
offering, a holiness of praises. The fruit of this year is to be dedicated 
to the Lord. In the fifth year the fruit is yours to increase your store 
of provisions. It has been consecrated by the dedication of the fourth 
year's produce to the Lord. I am the Lord, the Author of your being 
31 



242 ON HOLINESS. 

Lord. 26. Ye shall not eat with the blood ; ye shall not take 
omens nor use charms. 27. Ye shall not round the corner 
of your head, nor mar the corner of thy chin. 28. Ye shall 
not make a cutting in your flesh for the dead, nor make a 
print of branding upon you. 29. Thou shalt not profane thy 

and of all the fruits of the land. 26. From the vegetable the tran- 
sition is to the animal kingdom. Not eat with the blood. This phrase 
recurs in 1 Sam. xiv. 33 in the same sense. It indicates a careless 
mode of slaughtering the animal, so that the blood is not properly 
drained off. Three other customs prevalent in the land to which they 
were going are now prohibited. Take omens, 26 observe objects and 
events, and interpret them as signs of the purpose of heaven or the 
course of other events. This meaning of the word is confirmed by 
Gen. xxx. 27 ; xliv. 5, and 1 Kings xx. 33. Use charms, set forms 
of words whispered or muttered in a mysterious manner, as if they 
secured the power of a supernatural being to accomplish the end in 
view. They either invoked the power of other beings than God, or 
they were unauthorized by him, 

27. Round the corner of your head, cut off the hair in a circle 
round the head, leaving a lock on the top. The corner means the 
border or edge. The round tonsure was practised by the Arabs in 
honor of their god called 'O/aoraA., and identified with Bacchus (Herod, 
iii. 8), and doubtless by their neighbors the Kenaanites. Mar the 
corner of thy chin, cut or shave off the beard. The marring of the 
beard was of like import. Apart from idolatry, however, the people 
were not to disfigure themselves by any singularities of the old in- 
habitants of the land. There is no allusion in this passage to mourning 
for the dead. 28. Not make a cutting in your flesh. This was quite 
common in the ancient, and especially the Eastern world, and occurs 
among the Indians still. For the dead. For a soul, that is, a dead 
or departed soul, the body of which has not yet been removed from 
the sight. This form of mourning was at length used to express any 
distress of mind. Nor make a print of branding. This is the tattooing 
of the skin, which was customary among the ancients, and is still 
practised even in Arabia. But the people of God are not in this way 



LEVITICUS XIX. 29-32. 243 

daughter to make her a harlot; that the land be not adulterous, 
and the land be not full of lewdness. 30. My sabbaths ye 
shall keep and fear my sanctuary : I am the Lord. 31. Ye 
shall not turn to familiar spirits, nor seek after wizards to be 
defiled by them : I am the Lord your God. 32. Thou shalt 

to mutilate or mar their faces or persons. 29. Profane thy daughter. 
Fathers were wont, in many ancient nations, to exercise a most cruel 
and vile power over their daughters. This was pre-eminently the 
case in the land of Kenaan. The immoralities of Sodom and Go- 
morrha were not without their parallel throughout the land. 30. My 
sabbaths. The only effectual counteraction against the vices and 
impurities of the land was to be found in the sabbath and the sanc- 
tuary. The weekly return of the holy convocation, with its lessons 
and its devotions, was a strong check upon the temptations without, 
and a powerful means of generating habits of purity and piety. Fear 
my sanctuary. The knowledge and worship of the true God had, 
since the days of Melkizedec. vanished out of the land. The re- 
establishment of the worship of God and the introduction of the 
highly expressive service of the tabernacle were the safeguards of the 
true worshippers against the idolatrous and corrupt manners of the 
previous inhabitants. This brief admonition to keep the sabbath 
and fear the sanctuary, as the salvation of the people amidst sur- 
rounding apostasy, is enforced by the solemn sentence. I am the Lord. 
31. Not turn to familiar spirits, 31 ghosts supposed to be called up. by 
those who have the secret power, to answer questions or perform 
some other service. They are so far the slaves or famuli of their 
masters, and hence have been called familiar spirits. Wizards, 51 
persons professing to be acquainted with secret, supernatural, or 
infernal arts. These were common in the land of Kenaan. I am the 
Lord your God. Unto me, your Deliverer, ye are to turn for help 
and seek for wisdom. 32. Respect for age and reverence for God 
needed to be inculcated and fostered in that asre and land. It is no 
wonder that the minute and careful warnings of this chapter are set 
before the people. The iniquity of the Amorites was now at its 
height. "We have a very dark outline of it in the painful details of 



244 ON HOLINESS. 

rise up before a hoary head and honor the face of an old man ; 
and thou shalt fear thy God : I am the Lord. § 

33. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in the land, ye shall 
not oppress him. 34. As one born among you shall be unto 
you the stranger that sojourneth with you, and thou shalt love 
him*as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Mizraim: 
I am the Lord your God. 35. Thou shalt do no wrong in 
judgment, in wand, in weight, and in measure. 36. A just 
balance, a just weight, a just ephah, a just hin, shall ye have : 

this earnest and urgent admonition. The abhorrence with which the 
Lord regarded their crimes and vices moves him to warn his people 
with all faithfulness against the special temptations to which they 
were about to be exposed when they set their eyes upon the manners 
and customs of the doomed people. 

33-37. Holiness toward the stranger. There is here a retrospect, 
as well as a prospect. They had been treated with great harshness 
and cruelty by the governors of Egypt, where they were strangers. 
When they should reach a land of their own, they are to be kind to 
the stranger, and just to all men. Te shall not oppress him. By your 
recollection of the wrongs of the oppressed, be ye far from oppression. 
34. As one born among you. Treat the stranger as the home-born, 
and love him as thyself. This is a spirit entirely contrary to the 
principles of conduct which have been often ascribed to the descendants 
of Israel. The Roman poet affirms that they were taught non mons- 
trare vias eadem nisi sacra colenti. This, however, is a pure calumny 
on the Hebrew legislator. / am the Lord thy God. This is the 
watchword of the covenant of grace. It comes in here to touch the 
heart. Ye must be like me. The appeal becomes more frequent 
and fervent as we advance. 35, 36. Even-handed justice is to char- 
acterize your whole dealings. In wand, in measure of length. In 
measure, of capacity. A just weight, a just stone, a term which we 
retain to this day among our weights. The paramount reason for 
your integrity is that you are the holy people of the Lord. Hence it 
is repeated, " I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the 
land of Mizraim." The conclusion of the whole is : " And ye shall 



LEVITICUS XX. 245 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of 
Mizraim. 37. And ye shall keep all my statutes and all my 
judgments, and do them: I am the Lord. H" 

keep all my statutes and all my judgments, and do them. I am the 
Lord." It must be confessed that this people had ample instruction 
and abundant warning to wean them from the bad habits of Egypt, 
and guard them against the worse temptations of Kenaan. 



NOTES. 

4. Idols, ta^bx , vanities, negations ; ci&oXa, spectres, shadows. 

5. Holy thing, a*j'p , ra ayia. 

19. Of diverse kinds, 0^3 , two things of different kinds : er€po£vya», 
8ta<£opov, ck Svo v<f>aafxevov ; r. shut up, off. Linsey-woolsey, ttpStt? , 
Ki/3&r)\ov, adulterate. The word appears to be of Coptic origin. 

20. Betrothed, rsnns , plucked off, 8ia7T€cj>v\ayfiivq. 

26. Take omens, WJMaP}, olwulo-Oe. The word occurs only in eleven 
places. Use charms, -iDpistn, dpvtOoo-KOTnqo-ecrOe. This is rendered 
" observe times " by Maimonides. But the word signifying time is of 
later origin. The Rabbis understand by it fascinating with an evil 
eye. But this rests on a questionable etymology. The word is found 
about nine times. 

31. Familiar spirits, rhs , iyyaarptfivOoi, ventriloquists ; r. a bottle 
or bay. Wizards, D^W, eVaoiSoi; r. know. 



XX. PENALTIES. 

This chapter lays down the penalties for the breach of certain reg- 
ulations, mostly contained in the two previous chapters. The worship 
of Molek and disobedience to parents are treated of in one paragraph, 
(1-9). Sins of incest have sentence pronounced upon them in another 
(10-21). An earnest admonition followed by a judicial sentence on 
dealers with infernal powers completes the chapter (22-27). This 
communication is made to Moses for the people. 



246 PENALTIES. 

XX. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. And 
thou shalt say unto the sons of Israel, Any man of the sons of 
Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who giveth 
of his seed to Molek shall be put to death ; the people of the 
land shall stone him with stones. 3. And I will set my face 
against that man, and will cut him off from among his people ; 
for of his seed he hath given unto Molek to defile my sanc- 
tuary and profane my holy name. 4. And if the people of the 

1-9. Worshippers of Molek and dishonorers of parents. 2. Of 
the sons of Israel or of the strangers. All who dwell in the land come 
under this law. The strangers are proselytes to the true religion. 
Who giveth of Ms seed to Molek. This has its explanation in xviii. 21. 
Shall be put to death. The act is a breach of the first commandment, 
high treason against heaven. It is not merely departing from God 
but doing homage to a false god. It is, further, an outward act, which 
could most easily be avoided. It is, moreover, an offence against this 
state of which God himself is the sovereign. The people of the land, 
the inhabitants of the district to which he belongs. Those who take 
part in executing the sentence will beware of themselves committing 
the offence. Stone him with stones. This was the ordinary mode of 
capital punishment among the people of Israel. The criminal was 
stripped and his hands bound. He was then thrown violently down 
a steep twice the height of a man by one of the witnesses. If this 
proved fatal the sentence was executed. But if not, he was turned 
on his back, and a large stone dashed on his breast by the other 
witness, and all the people that stood by threw stones on him till he 
died. This was a very solemn and awful mode of punishment, as all 
the bystanders took part in it, and thereby signified their condemnation 
of the crime. 3. / will set my face against that man. This is done 
in the preceding doom. The Judge of all the earth cannot do other- 
wise than cut off the man who not only denies God, but sets up another 
as God. To defile my sanctuary, by setting up and honoring a rival 
sanctuary. And profane my holy name, by applying it to anything 
else real or imaginary. The name is the sign of the essence of God. 
To ascribe it, therefore, to any creature of God or of the human fancy 



LEVITICUS XX. 3-9. 247 

land do hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his 
seed to Molek, and do not kill him, 5. Then will I set my 
face against that man and against his family, and will cut him , 
off and all that lust after him, to lust after Molek, from among 
their people. 6. And the soul that turneth to familiar spirits 
and to wizards to lust after them, I will even set my face 
against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 
7. And ye shall sanctify yourselves and be holy : for I am the 
Lord your God. 8. And ye shall keep my statutes and do 
them : I am the Lord who sanctifieth you. 9. When any man 
curseth his father and his mother, he shall be put to death ; 

is to profane it. This shows the heinousness of this crime. 4, 5. Those 
who abet or screen or fail to punish the worshippers of Molek partake 
of his guilt and are to share in his doom. And against his family, 
who are tainted with his crime. And all that lust after him, that 
follow his adulterous example in lusting after Molek. The extreme 
barbarity as well as the abject impurity of this form of idolatry ren- 
dered it peculiarly offensive. 6. Familiar spirits and wizards have 
been already noticed in xix. 31. Those who commit spiritual forni- 
cation with them are to be similarly punished. 7. And ye shall 
sanctify yourselves. Quickened into a new spiritual life they are able, 
as well as bound, to sanctify themselves in practice and be holy in 
character. Many of the people were still doubtless in a carnal state. 
But they had the outward call of mercy and the outward privilege 
of the covenant ; and if they were living insensible to these advantages 
and opportunities, it was at their own peril. For I am the Lord 
your God, your Deliverer and Quickener as well as your Creator and 
Preserver. Such he really is to the truly believing portion of the 
people. 8. The natural consequence of sanctification is a holy life, a 
spontaneous obedience. Keep my statutes. Ye shall give heed to my 
written ordinances. And do them, not merely hear, attend, and ap- 
prove, but obey. Who sanctifieth you, the Lord, who quickens you 
unto a new life of holiness and happiness, has the right to your 
absolute obedience. 9. Cursing, dishonoring, disobeying father and 



248 PENALTIES. 

lie hath cursed his father and his mother; his blood shall 
be upon him. 

10. And he that committeth adultery with a man's wife, 
that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adul- 
terer and the the adulteress shall be put to death. 11. And 
he that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's 
nakedness ; they shall both be put to death ; their blood shall 
be upon them. 12. And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, 
they shall both be put to death ; they have wrought pollution : 
their blood shall be upon them. 13. And if a man lie with a 
male as one lieth with a woman, they have both committed an 
abomination ; they shall be put to death ; their blood shall be 
upon them. 14. And if a man take a wife and her mother, 
it is lewdness ; they shall burn with fire him and them ; and 

mother is a crime nigh unto ungodliness. Hence it stands next our 
duty to God in the ten commandments and is here subjoined to a 
warning against idolatry. The condemnation of disobedience to 
parents comes in also appropriately after the injunction to be holy. 
The penalty is death. His blood shall be upon his own head. 

10-21. Penalties laid upon various kinds of incest. 10. Adultery 
with another man's wife (xviii. 20). That committeth adultery with 
a neighbor's wife. The repetition of the phrase marks the enormity 
of the offence. They are both to be put to death in the customary 
way, that is, by stoning. 11. Adultery with a father's wife (xviii. 
7, 8) . This is a more revolting form of the generic crime. The 
penalty is the same. 12. Adultery with a daughter-in-law (xviii. 15). 
This is declared to be pollution, an unholy mixture or confusion. 
13. Sodomy is the crime here condemned (xviii. 22). It is termed 
an abomination, a thing to be regarded with abhorrence, and to be 
punished with death. 14. To take a woman and her mother (xviii. 
17) is an act of lewdness, a vile and wicked deed. The partners in 
it are to be burned with fire. It appears from Josh. vii. 15-25, that 
the burning followed stoning to death. We find another case in 
which this punishment was inflicted, in the following chapter. 



LEVITICUS XX. 15-19. 249 

there shall be no lewdness among you. 15. And the man 
that shall lie with a beast shall be put to death ; and the beast 
ye shall kill. 16. And if a woman approach to any beast to 
copulate with it, thou shalt kill both the woman and the beast ; 
they shall be put to death ; their blood shall be upon them. 
17. And if a man take his sister, his father's daughter or his 
mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his 
nakedness, it is shame ; and they shall be cut off in the sight 
of their people : his sister's nakedness he hath uncovered ; he 
shall bear his iniquity. 18. And if a man lie with a sick 
woman and uncover her nakedness, he hath made bare her 
fountain and she hath uncovered the fountain of blood, and 
they shall both be cut off from among their people. 19. And 
the nakedness of thy mother's sister or of thy father's sister 
thou shalt not uncover ; for he uncovereth his near kin ; they 

15. Carnal connection with a beast (xviii. 23). The perpetrator of 
this horrid crime is to be put to death, and the beast to be killed. 

16. The other form of this unnatural crime (xviii. 23) is to be pun- 
ished in the same way. 17. Incest with a sister (xviii. 9, 11). This 
is called shame or infamous lust. Both shall be cut off from their 
people by stoning. 18. Lying with a woman in her monthly 
sickness (xviii. 19) is regarded as a crime deserving of the penalty 
of death. For all the forms of unnatural lust above enumerated the 
penalty of death is required, and for one the additional dishonor of 
being burned after death. 

19. We now come to a series of forbidden connections for which 
the penalty is not defined. It is merely stated that they shall bear 
their iniquity or sin, and in two of the cases that they shall be or die 
heirless. The first is carnal connection with an aunt (xviii. 12, 13). 
Such a marriage is condemned. This is a singular instance of im- 
partiality or the total absence of personal bias in the legislator, as he 
was the son of Amram who married his aunt. It is merely said of 
those who became so connected that they should bear their iniquity. 
But in what way they were to be punished we are not informed, and 



250 PENALTIES. 

shall bear their iniquity. 20. And if a man lie with his 
wife's uncle he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness ; their 
sin they shall bear ; they shall die heirless. 21. And if a man 
take his brother's wife, it is uncleanness ; he hath uncovered 
his brother's nakedness ; they shall be heirless. 

22. And ye shall keep all my statutes and all my judgments 
and do them ; and the land, whither I bring you to dwell in 
it, shall not spue you out. 23. And ye shall not walk in the 

cannot decide. 20. Here a matrimonial connection with an uncle's 
wife is forbidden (xviii. 14). The parties to it shall bear their sin. 
They shall die heirless. This does not mean that they shall be put 
to death, which is otherwise expressed in the previous verses ; nor 
that they shall be destitute of offspring by the visitation of heaven ; 
but that their offspring, if any, shall not be counted to them, called 
by their name, or admitted as their heirs. The meaning heirless is 
corroborated by Gen. xv. 2 and Jer. xxii. 30. 21. To take a brother's 
wife is termed uncleanness. Those who form this forbidden connection 
shall be heirless. Their children, if they have any, shall be heirs to 
others, and they themselves shall be without heirs. Their name would 
thus perish out of Israel, which was accounted a disgrace and a 
calamity. Even in the excepted case of a brother dying childless the 
children of the widow to the surviving brother would be heirs, not to 
him, but to his deceased brother. The only cases in chap, xviii. left 
unnoticed here are those of marriage with a granddaughter and of 
marriage with a second wife while the former one was still alive. 
The granddaughter may be reasonably included under the daughter. 
In this way the only forbidden connection to which no penalty is 
expressly annexed is that with more than one wife at the same time. 
Considerable checks, however, were put upon the practice by the law 
which secured all their rights to the first wife and her offspring. 

22-31. A closing admonition founded on the preceding legislation. 
22. This contains an injunction often repeated (xviii. 4, 26 ; xix. 9, 
37 ; xx. 7). The warning is added that the land may spue them out 
if disobedient, as it did their predecessors. 23. The corresponding 
prohibition now follows. The statutes of the former inhabitants are 



LEVITICUS XX. 23-27. 251 

statutes of the nations which I cast out before you ; for they 
have done all these things, and. I loathed them. 24. And I 
said unto you, Ye shall possess their ground, and I will give 
it unto you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and hont 
I am the Lord your God who have separated you from thv 
nations. 25. And ye shall separate between the clean beast 
and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean ; 
and ye shall not contaminate your souls with beast or with 
fowl or with anything that creepeth on the ground, which I 

their evil customs, for which they were in the act of being cast out, 
because their iniquity was now full. They have done all these things, 
which are denounced in the preceding chapters. When we cast a 
glance over the black catalogue, it is no wonder that the perpetrators 
excited the abhorrence and indignation of the High and Holy One. 
24. Ye shall possess, acquire by conquest, or gain possession of their 
soil. The word denotes grasping or violent seizing. 1 will give it 
unto you to possess it. I give you the authority and the ability to 
obtain possession of it. A land flowing with milk and. honey, and 
therefore abounding in the rich pastures and fragrant flowers which 
afford nourishment for cattle and bees. The watchword of their 
covenant with God is now introduced with the addition " who have 
separated you from the nations." God had twice made known his 
mercy and proclaimed his invitations and warnings to the whole 
human family, first to Adam and then to Noah, and twice they had 
forsaken him and despised his mercy. Now he has done a new thing. 
He has chosen a peculiar people and separated them from all the 
nations, to be unto him a royal priesthood and a holy nation, bearing 
testimony in the midst of the nations to his name and grace. What 
an inestimable honor, what a paramount obligation to be or belong to 
such a people. 25. And ye shall separate. As I have separated you 
from all nations, you are to separate the clean from the unclean in 
all things according to my word. Ye shall not contaminate your souls, 
your sensuous, susceptible part, which is the inlet of all temptations 
and from which, therefore, comes the danger of all sin. Which 1 have 
separated for you. This raises the distinction above all mere will- 



252 PENALTIES. 

have separated for you as unclean. 26. And ye shall be holy 
unto me, for I the Lord am holy : and I separated you from 
the nations to be mine. 27. And the man or woman that 
shall have a familiar spirit or be a wizard shall be put to 
death ; they shall stone them with stones ; their blood shall be 
upon them. 31 If -^ IT 

worship and puts it upon the ground of compliance with a divine 
command, a command which contains within it a deep spiritual 
significance. 26. The precept of holiness is now repeated as the 
conclusion of the whole matter. Separated you from the nations 
to be mine. To be his is the very essence of the great honor of 
being separate. It touches the heart and awakens the affections. 
27. Nothing could be more adverse to such lofty devotedness to God, 
than seeking after familiar spirits or the infernal arts of the wizard 
(xix. 31). Such were very prevalent in the country to which they 
were advancing. The stern sentence is that they should be put to 
death by stoning, and their blood will be upon their own head. 
These emphatic and affectionate lessons to the chosen people were 
not in vain. They did not, indeed, extirpate evil from the hearts 
of all. But they effected a mighty change in the moral nature of the 
great bulk of the nation. They told also on the successive generations 
of Israel and produced beautiful and attractive examples of piety 
towards God and goodwill to men. And they are telling to this day 
on a constantly increasing portion of the race of man. 

This completes the series of regulations applying chiefly to the civil 
life of the Israelites in the country to which he was going. With the 
exception of some reference to the camp in chap, xvii., they all look 
forward to the land of the nations whom they were to dispossess on 
account of their abounding iniquity. These chapters, we see, are ar- 
ranged on a regular plan. Purity in food, purity in wedlock, holiness in 
converse with God and man follow in orderly succession. To these 
chapters is added a fourth embodying the sanctions of the enactments 
which they contain. The whole has pointed reference to the vice and 
immorality of the country to which they were approaching, and forms 
a seasonable and faithful warning to the people on the eve of coming 
into contact with a nation that had filled up the measure of its iniquity. 



SECTION V. — RULES CONCERNING RELIGIOUS 
MATTERS. 

XXI. CONCERNING THE PRIESTS. 

XXI. 1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto the 
priests, Aaron's sons, Say thus unto them, none shall be defiled 
for the dead among his people. 2. But for his kin that is 

This section consists of four chapters relating to religions matters. 
They follow a plain and natural order, treating of the priests, the 
offerings, the days, and the dwelling of God. They are preparatory, 
like the preceding four, for the settled life of the people when they 
have entered into possession of the land of promise. The present 
chapter contains two brief communications addressed to Moses for 
Aaron and his sons. The first refers to the sanctity to be maintained 
by the priests in their personal relations to others, and consists of 
two parts ; the first applying to the priests in general (1-9) ; the 
second to the high-priest in particular (10-15). The second com- 
munication refers to the personal qualities of the priests (16-24). 

1-9. Regulations guarding the sanctity of the priests in their inter- 
course with others. 1-6. These verses refer to the avoidance in 
certain cases of defilement by a dead body. 1. No one, priest. De- 
Jiled for the dead, for a soul departed (xix. 28), whose body defiled 
not only him who touched it, but the tent in which it lay (Num. xix. 
11, 14). Among Ms people, in the circle of his family or neighbor- 
hood. The ties of kindred and the civilities of social life call for 
services in the case of a death which often involve ceremonial un- 
cleanness. But the priests, on account of their oflice, are to be 
excused from these. 2. Six cases are expressly excepted, in which 
he may take part in the duties owing to the dead. His wife is added 

253 



254 CONCERNING THE PRIESTS. 

near unto him, for his mother and for his father and for his 
son and for his daughter and for his brother : 3. And for his 
sister, the maiden that is near unto him, who hath not a hus- 
band, for her he may be defiled. 4. A master among his 
people he shall not be denied, to profane himself. 5. They 
shall not make baldness upon their head, and the corner of 
their chin they shall not shave off, nor make any cut in their 
flesh. 6. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane 
the name of their God ; for the fire-offering of the Lord, the 

by some (Keil) as a seventh, on the ground that she is his own flesh 
(Gen. ii. 24), and is therefore included in himself, and nearer than 
all other relatives. 3. An unmarried sister who still dwells with her 
father is included. But when married and away she belongs to 
another home and kin. 4. A master among his people, the head of a 
house, and there surrounded by servants, relatives, and neighbors, 
who would have a natural claim on his kind attentions. But, being 
a priest, he is to refrain from all unnecessary contact with the dead, 
lest by incurring defilement he should profane himself, and so be 
rendered unfit for the discharge of his sacred duties. This appears to 
be the obvious meaning of this much-contested sentence. It is that 
given by Willet. 5. Disfigurement of the person on account of the 
dead is forbidden to the priests. Three kinds of it are mentioned. 
Baldness upon their head. Making a bald place on the front of the 
head between the eyes is again mentioned in Deut. xiv. 1. The corner 
of the chin. Shaving the corner of the chin and making cuts in the 
flesh have already been forbidden to all Israelites (xix. 27 f.). 6. They 
shall be holy. The great principle is now enunciated that the priests 
shall be holy unto their God. They could not otherwise be fit to 
present the symbols representing the great atonement. They could 
not be suitable types of the true High-Priest between God and man. 
And not prof ane the name of their God. The essence of God and all 
that is connected with his will and worship must be kept from pro- 
fanity. The fire-offerings. These represent propitiation. Every- 
thing burnt on the altar is a sweet smell, a thing acceptable. The 



LEVITICUS XXI. 7-10. 255 

bread of their God, they offer, and they shall be holy. 7. They 
shall not take a wife that is a harlot or profane, nor shall they 
take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy 
unto his God. 8. And thou shalt sanctify him ; for he offereth 
the bread of thy God : he shall be holy unto thee : for I the 
Lord who sanctify you am holy. 9. And the daughter of a 
priest, when she profaneth herself to be a harlot, she profaneth 
her father ; she shall be burned with fire. § 

10. And the high-priest among his brethren, upon whose 
head the anointing oil was poured, and whose hand was filled 

bread of God, a parallel phrase, importing the same thing. 7-9. This 
passage refers to purity in the family relations. A priest is not to 
marry a harlot, a profane or dishonored woman, or a divorced woman. 
He is therefore restricted to a virgin or a widow of irreproachable 
character from any of the tribes of Israel (xxii. 12). He is holy unto 
his God, and must therefore form a holy affinity. 8. Thou shalt 
sanctify him. This is addressed to the governing power in sacred 
things for the time being. He offereth the bread of thy God. This 
is a matter of vital consequence to the Israelite. The priest was his 
present mediator with God. He must be kept pure. Hence this 
admonition seems to be addressed to the magistrate in this theocratic 
state, who was to protect the priest in all the rights of his office, and 
take order that due diligence was shown in the discharge of its duties. 
He shall be holy unto thee. Thou shalt see to it that he is holy, so far 
as it lies in thy power to further this end. i~ the Lord who sanctify 
you. This state is a holy nation, a kingdom, indeed, of priests. It is 
bound to take measures that its priesthood be holy. 9. The daughter 
of a priest, if she play the harlot, is especially guilty. She profanes 
her father, as well as herself. She brings dishonor and reproach 
upon him and his office. She is to be burned with fire, that is, put to 
death by stoning, and the body then burned. 

10-15. The sanctity of the high-priest. 10-12. These verses 
guard against defilement by the dead. 10. The high-priest is here 
distinguished by two properties. The anointing oil was poured upon 



256 CONCERNING THE PRIESTS. 

to put on the garments, shall not bare his head nor rend his 
garments ; 11. Nor shall he go in to any dead body ; for his 
father or for his mother he shall not defile himself. 12. Nor 
shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of 
his God ; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God 
is upon him : I am the Lord. 13. And he shall take a wife 
in her virginity. 14. A widow and a divorced woman and a 
profane one and a harlot, these he shall not take ; but a virgin 
of his people shall he take to wife. 15. And he shall not pro- 



his head (viii. 12), pointing to his moral perfection. Whose hand 
was filled to put on the garments. Two qualities are here curiously 
combined into one. The filling of the hands (viii. 22-28) was the 
ordination of the high-priest to his office. He was thereby entitled 
to put on the garments of his royal priesthood. This prophetic and 
regal priest was not to bare his head nor rend his garments in 
mourning for the dead (x. 6). These acts would be inconsistent with 
the holiness of his character, as well as with the very purport of his 
office, which was to abolish death, and make an end of sin by an all- 
sufficient propitiation and an everlasting righteousness. 11. He shall 
not defile himself, even for his father or his mother. The transcendent 
interests of salvation, which depend on his purity and perfection, are 
not to be endangered or abandoned for the outward forms of an earthly 
affliction. 12. He shall not leave his sacred duties in the sanctuary, 
nor profane it by incurring any defilement which would mar their 
efficacy or acceptance. The consecration 12 of the anointing oil. He 
is consecrated unto God, a holy mediator. To desecrate him is to 
defeat the mediation, and leave the breach between God and man 
still unrepaired. 13-15. This paragraph relates to sanctity in en- 
tering the married state. There is no greater proof that marriage 
was regarded as holy than the permission extended to the high-priest 
to marry. 13. He shall marry a virgin. 14. Not a widow, a di- 
vorced, or a profane woman, nor a harlot, but a virgin of his own 
people, of any of the tribes of Israel (xxii. 12). 15. He shall not 
profane his seed by contracting an unsuitable marriage, or otherwise. 



LEVITICUS XXL 15-21. 257 

fane his seed among his people ; for I the Lord do sanctify 
him. § 

16. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 17. Speak 
unto Aaron, saying, No man of thy seed in their generations 
that hath any blemish shall draw near to offer the bread of his 
God. 18. For no man that hath a blemish shall draw near, 
blind or lame or flat-nosed or long-eared. 19. Or a man that 
hath a broken foot or a broken hand. 20. Or hump-backed 
or wasted or pearl-eyed or scurvy or scabby or broken-stoned. 
21. No man having a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest 

I the Lord do sanctify him. He owes his high and holy position to 
me. He owes himself in the highest possible relations to me. 

16-24. Personal defects that excluded from the priestly office. 
16. This is a distinct communication. 17. That hath any blemish. 
If the victim was to be perfect, so must the priest be. In the great 
High-Priest, victim and priest are one, and must be holy, harmless and 
undefiled. Draw near} 1 Only the holy can approach the holy. 
The victim is offered, made to draw near. The priest draws near. 
The great High-Priest being both priest and victim, is both active and 
passive in his work of mediation. To offer the bread. The bread is 
the food, that which is burned on the altar or eaten by the priests of 
the offerings, whether animal or vegetable. It represents the perfect 
righteousness which is acceptable to God, and effects propitiation as 
distinct from expiation. Hence it comes in here appropriately. 18-20. 
The blemishes are now enumerated. Blind or lame. About these 
there is no dispute. They are manifest disqualifications. Flat-nosed 
or long-eared}* These are by some made more general ; having any 
member too small or too great. These are disfigurements. A broken 
foot or a broken hand. These render a man unfit for service. Hump- 
backed or wasted.™ The latter is contrasted with the former, and is 
understood to refer to extreme thinness or leanness of flesh or limb. 
Pearl-eyed™ having a speck or stain in the eye. Scurvy or scabby. 
These terms denote those who are affected with cutaneous diseases. 
21. None of these is to take part in the presentation of the fire-offer- 
ings of the Lord. The fire-offerings, like the bread, denote that which 
33 



258 CONCERNING THE PRIESTS. 

shall come nigh to offer the fire-offerings of the Lord ; he hath 
a blemish ; he shall not draw nigh to offer the bread of his 
God. 22. He shall eat the bread of his God, of the most holy 
and of the holy. 23. Only unto the veil he shall not go, nor 
draw nigh unto the altar ; for he hath a blemish ; and he shall 
not profane my holy things ; for I the Lord do sanctify them. 
24. And Moses spake to Aaron and to his sons and to all the 
sons of Israel. ^[ 

propitiates. They constitute " a sweet smell " unto the Lord. 22. But 
he is permitted to eat of the most holy and the holy parts of the offer- 
ings which are assigned of the Lord to his priests. 23. Unto the veil, 
however, or unto the altar he shall not go, because he has a blemish. 
A priest with a blemish would profane the holy things and places, the 
veil and the altar. 24. Moses communicated these regulations to the 
priests and the people. 

The priests are thus guarded from defilement by the dead, from dis- 
honor by an unworthy affinity, and from unfitness by personal defect. 
These qualifications are all proper in themselves, and especially be- 
coming in those who are to bear the vessels of the Lord, who are to 
be distinguished by an unblemished moral character. They point, 
however, to the spiritual characteristics of holiness, patience and activ- 
ity, which are to distinguish the true servant of God and Redeemer 
of his people. Absolute holiness must be found in him who is to 
mediate with the Holy One for the unholy. Patience is an indispens- 
able quality of him who is to submit to die for sinners, to suffer the 
loss of all things, endure the contradiction of sinners, and be at length 
the victim for the sins of others. Activity is also a needful quality in 
him who is to volunteer the performance of all the duties of a kinsman 
and of a righteousness which earns the blessings of eternal life. 

NOTES. 

12. Consecration, "ita , separation, ayiov ; r. separate. 

17. Draw near, 3^p/?; offer, bring near, 3^5* offering, *}2^£. 

18.' Flat-nosed, tTitt , contracted, KoXofiopw ; r. shut in, contract, 
withhold from common use. Long-eared, Sj'HiM, stretched, wrorfc^ros. 

20. Hump-backed, 'jSft, bent, bowed, Kvpros. Wasted, pf, e<^\os. 
Pearl-eyed, ia'Vfi b^ati , stained in his eye, tttAAos tovs d(f>9aApov<s. 



LEVITICUS XXII. 1-3. 259 



XXH. CONCERNING THE OFFERINGS. 

XXII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto Aaron and to his sons, and they shall separate themselves 
from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and not profane my 
holy name in what they hallow unto me : I am the Lord. 
3. Say unto them, Any man of all your seed in your genera- 
tions that draweth nigh to the holy things which the sons of 
Israel hallow unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, 
that soul shall be cut off from before me: I am the Lord. 



This chapter is parallel to the former. As that refers to the priest, 
so this to the offering. It consists of three communications made to 
Moses for Aaron and his sons, and the last two for the people also. 
The first determines, on the one hand, who of the priests are not to 
touch the offerings (1-9), and, on the other hand, who besides the 
priests are to partake of them (10-16). The second determines the 
qualities of the victims suitable for offering (17-25). The third lays 
down certain conditions to be observed even with suitable victims 
(26-33). 

1-9. Who of the priests are not to touch the holy things of the 
Lord. 2. They shall separate themselves, when they labor under 
any disability, such as is afterwards described. From the holy things, 
those parts of the sacrifice which were reserved from the fire for the 
priests (Num. xviii. 11-19, 26-29). And not profane my holy name. 
The holy things consecrated to the Lord by the sons of Israel remained 
truly and always his. The consuming of certain parts of them by his 
priests was only one of the ways in which he expressed his acceptance. 
The eating of them by the priests was therefore a holy and solemn 
act, in which the Lord accepted the sacrifice of his people and the 
people themselves. Hence to touch them with unclean hands was to 
profane the name of the Lord. / am the Lord. This is appended 
as the seal and sanction of the rule. 3. The unclean, therefore, are 
to stand aloof from the holy food, on pain of excommunication. This 



260 CONCERNING THE OFFERINGS. 

4. No man of the seed of Aaron that is leprous or hath a flux 
shall eat of the holy things until he be clean ; and he that 
toucheth anything unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed 
goeth from him, 5. Or he that toucheth any creeper for which 
he is unclean, or a man for whom he is unclean after all 
his uncleanness. 6. The soul that toucheth any such shall be 
unclean until the even ; and he shall not eat of the holy things, 
but shall wash his flesh in water. 7. And the sun shall set, 
and he shall be clean ; and then he shall eat of the holy things ; 
for it is his food. 8. The dead and the torn he shall not eat 
to be defiled thereby : I am the Lord. 9. And they shall 
keep my charge, and shall not bear sin for it and die by it, 
when they profane it : I am the Lord who sanctify you. 

10. And no stranger shall eat of the holy thing : a sojourner 

is followed as usual by the sign and seal of the Lord. 4. He that is 
a leper or has an issue is not to partake of the holy things till he be 
clean, and has gone through the process described in several parts of 
chapters xiii., xiv., and xv. 4-6. He that touches anything unclean by 
the dead (xix. 28) or whose seed flows from him (xv. 16, 18), or who 
touches a reptile or another man that is unclean in any way, shall be 
unclean until the evening. 7. Having washed his flesh in water he 
shall be clean when the sun is down, and may eat. 8. The prohibition 
concerning the dead and the torn (xvii. 15, 16), applies with peculiar 
emphasis to the priests. 9. Keep my charge. This is an old and 
venerable phrase first addressed to Abraham (Gen. xxvi. 5), then to 
Aaron and his sons (viii. 35), then to the Levites (Num. iii. 7), and 
lastly to all Israel as a kingdom of priests (Num. ix. 19). And shall 
not bear sin for it, the holy thing, which would otherwise have been 
defiled and desecrated. And die by it. If the propitiation be made 
void, the power of death returns, because its right revives against the 
transgressor. The significant sentence is then added, "I am the 
Lord who sanctify you." 

10-16. Who besides the priests are to partake of the holy things. 
10. No stranger. A stranger here is one who does not belong to the 






LEVITICUS XXTL 10-14. 261 

with the priest and a hireling shall not eat of the holy thing. 
11. And when the priest acquires a soul, the purchase of his 
money, he shall eat of it ; and he that is born in his house ; 
they shall eat of his food. 12. And when the priest's daughter 
is married to a stranger she may not eat of the holy offering. 
13. But when the priest's daughter is a widow or divorced and 
hath no child, and hath returned to her father's house as in her 
youth, she shall eat of her father's bread ; but no stranger 
shall eat of it. 14. And when a man eateth of the holy thing in 



priestly family. A sojourner is not a member of the family ; neither 
is a hireling, who merely comes to labor day by day. 11.-4 soul the 
purchase of his money. Serfdom existed among the Israelites. A man 
became a serf by the sentence of the judge, by the chance of war, or 
by the act of his own will. The last mode indicates that serfdom in 
Israel was something very different from Gentile or modern slavery. 
Its limitations are laid down in Ex. xxi. 2—11, to the remarks on 
which we refer, and in Lev. xxv. 10, 39-55. A serf might be trans- 
ferred from one master to another by purchase. He' shall eat of it. 
Hence we find that the serf is counted a member of the priest's family 
and may partake of the holy fare. The same rule applies to the 
passover (Ex. xii. 44). He that is born in his house. This includes, 
and indeed specially refers to, the offspring of the serf, 12, 13. The 
priest's daughter, if unmarried, belongs to the priest's family by right 
of birth, and partakes of his fare ; but when married to a stranger she 
belongs to a family not connected with the priesthood, and therefore 
is not entitled to partake of the holy things. We learn from xxi. 
7, 14 and from the present verse that the priests were permitted to 
marry a wife out of any of the tribes of Israel, and that a priest's 
daughter might be married to an Israelite of any tribe. If, however, 
she returns to her father's house a childless widow, she becomes again 
a member of his family. If she have children it is to be understood 
that she has still a home and a possession to which her children are 
heirs. But no stranger shall eat of it. After making the needful 
exceptions all others are excluded. 14. The layman that eats of the 



262 CONCERNING THE OFFERINGS. 

error, then he shall add a fifth of it to it, and give the holy thing 
to the priest. 15. And they shall not profane the holy things 
of the sons of Israel, which they heave up unto the Lord ; 
16. Nor bring upon them the iniquity of trespass when they 
eat their holy things : for I am the Lord who sanctify them, ^f 
17. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 18. Speak 
unto Aaron and to his sons and unto all the sons of Israel, 

holy food in error is simply to restore an equivalent for the holy 
thing with the addition of a fifth part to it. 15. Not profane the holy 
things of the sons of Israel. They were in God's stead in this act. 
On his part they accepted the offering and the offerer in the act of 
partaking the former. This solemn and significant act was not to be 
rendered null and void by any unworthy or unwarranted partaker. 
Which they heave up. They were not laid on the altar and burnt with 
fire like the flesh of the whole-sacrifice, the fat of the peace-offering, 
or the memorial of the oblation, but lifted up in token of being dedi- 
cated to the Lord, and given to the priests to be eaten. This is called 
heaving. 16. Nor bring upon them. This is a continuation of the 
preceding verse. Unworthy or inadmissible partakers brought upon 
the people the iniquity of trespass by their partaking. Trespass is 
righteousness unperformed. The trespass-offering represents this 
righteousness performed by the substitute. Now such partakers 
nullified the propitiation, which the proper partakers would have 
accepted on the part of God. They left the people, therefore, still 
under the debt of righteousness, which the propitiation was to have 
discharged. They were bound to make amends for this fatal conse- 
quence of their unlawful partaking. The mode of making redress 
appears to be indicated in vs. 14. The equivalent of the holy thing 
with an added fifth was to be presented. It is to be presumed that 
the evil consequence which their act was calculated to produce would 
fall not on the worshipper, but on the intruder. The inadvertent 
trespasser is therefore to make amends. 

17-25. The qualities of victims suitable for offering. This is the 
second commmunication of this chapter. 18-20. And unto all the sons 
of Israel. It concerns not only Aaron and his sons, but all the people. 



LEVITICUS XXII. 18-22. 263 

and say unto them, If any man of the house of Israel or of the 
strangers in Israel will bring his offering, for all their vows 
and for all their gifts which they offer unto the Lord for a 
burnt-sacrifice, 19. For your acceptance it shall be a perfect 
male of the herd, of the sheep or of the goats. 20. Any that 
hath a blemish ye shall not offer ; for it shall not be accepted 
for you. 21. And when a man offers a sacrifice of peace unto 
the Lord, to set apart a vow, or for a gift, of the cattle or of the 
sheep, it shall be perfect for acceptance ; no blemish shall be 
in it. 22. Blind or broken or maimed or ulcerous or scurvy 

A stranger in Israel, as well as an Israelite, may offer a burnt-sacrifice. 
The stranger in Israel has either submitted to circumcision, and so 
has been incorporated into the holy nation as a proselyte of righteous- 
ness, or merely acknowledges the true God without being circumcised, 
in which case he was called a proselyte of the gate. For all their 
vows and for all their gifts. Vows and gifts are introduced under the 
head of sacrifices of peace in vii. 16. The Sept. renders the words 
" in all their confession and in all their choice," 18 which brings the 
whole into harmony with the closing word "for a burnt-sacrifice." 
The Rabbis, on the other hand, affirm that Gentiles offering a peace- 
sacrifice burnt the whole on the altar as a whole or burnt-sacrifice. But 
this does not meet the case of the son of Israel, nor of the proselyte 
of righteousness. The real explanation seems to be this : that a vow 
or gift may be either a sacrifice of peace or a whole burnt-sacrifice, 
according to the will of the worshipper. In vii. 16 the sacrifice of 
peace was spoken of; in this verse the burnt-sacrifice is meant and 
expressed. For your acceptance, in order that you and your sacrifice 
may be accepted. A perfect male. A male, because it was a burnt- 
sacrifice (i. 3). Perfect, because it is to propitiate, or to represent the 
Holy One who is to propitiate. A perfect male or female was allowed 
for a peace-offering (iii. 1). An imperfect victim will not in any case 
be accepted as sacrifice. 21. A sacrifice of peace, under which is also 
included a vow or a gift, must be perfect in order to be accepted. To 
set apart, separate, devote. 22. The blemishes are now enumerated. 
Broken in limb. Ulcerous, 22 having an abcess or running sore. Nor 



264 CONCERNING THE OFFERINGS. 

or scabby, ye shall not offer these unto the Lord, nor present 
a fire-offering of them upon the altar unto the Lord. 23. And 
a bullock or a lamb that hath anything too large or too small, 
thou mayest make a gift of it, but for a vow it shall not be 
accepted. 24. And the bruised or crushed or torn or cut ye 
shall not offer unto the Lord ; nor in your land shall ye make 
such. 25. Nor from the hand of a stranger shall ye offer the 
bread of your God of any of these ; for their corruption iu 
them is a blemish in them; they shall not be accepted for 
you. § 

26. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 27. When 
an ox, a sheep, or a goat is brought forth it shall be seven days 
under its dam ; and from the eighth day and onwards it shall 
be accepted for an offering by fire unto the Lord. 28. And 

present a fire-offering. This is specially mentioned, because the part 
burned on the altar represents propitiation by a perfect righteousness. 
23. An animal having any member too large or too small may serve 
for a gift, but not for the payment of a vow, inasmuch as the latter 
implied a perfect victim. 24. The bruised 24 or crushed 24 or torn M or 
cut 24 are animals castrated in some one of four different modes prac- 
tised in ancient times. The present passage forbids not only the 
offering of victims so treated, but also the practice itself. 25. Nor 
from the hand of a stranger. As from no Israelite, so from no stran- 
ger would such be accepted as sacrifices. The bread of your God. 
Anything burned on the altar or reserved from it to be eaten by the 
priests of God came under this head (hi. 11 ; xxi. 21, 22). It must 
be derived from a perfect victim to represent that which is acceptable 
to God, which in moral things is perfect righteousness. Their corrup- 
tion. Any one of the ten or twelve defects here mentioned is a corrup- 
tion, and therefore a blemish, rendering them unworthy of acceptance. 
26-33. Conditions to be observed in the case of an unblemished 
victim. This is the third communication. 27. First, its age. Seven 
days under its dam. The number here indicates perfection in point 
of days. From the eighth day and onwards it is acceptable. It has 



LEVITICUS XXII. 27-33. 265 

an ox or sheep, it and its young ye shall not slay in one day. 
29. And when ye make a sacrifice of praise unto the Lord, ye 
shall sacrifice it for your acceptance. 30. In that day it shall 
be eaten ; ye shall not leave of it until the morning : I am the 
Lord. 31. And ye shall keep my commandments and do 
them : I am the Lord. 32. And ye shall not profane my holy 
name ; but I will be hallowed among the sons of Israel : I am 
the Lord who hallow you. 33. Who brought you out of the 
land of Mizraim to be your God : I am the Lord. ^f 

got a hold of life, and may be viewed apart from the dam. 28. Sec- 
ondly, the dam and the young are not to be slain in one day. Even 
the natural affection of a brute was not to be wounded. Much less is 
our own sense of propriety and good feeling to be blunted. This was 
a striking lesson in much higher things. It is in keeping with the 
precept in Ex. xxiii. 19. 29, 30. Thirdly, the flesh of the sacrifice 
of thanksgiving was to be eaten on the same day on which it was 
offered (vii. 15). This comes up here again in a new association for 
the sake of impression. Thanksgiving and parsimony do not go well 
together. To reserve any part of a thank-offering when there may be 
hungry mouths ready to partake of it would savor more of parsimony 
than praise. The word of authority and power here comes in with 
great effect, "I am the Lord." 31. Keep my commandments. The 
principle of obedience, as distinct from the intrinsic obligation of a 
moral law, is here brought into view. 32, 33. Ye are to hallow me 
in all your offerings and proceedings. And ye have the most power- 
ful motives as well as the most cheering encouragements to aim at 
this object. " I am the Lord," the God of covenant and of salvation. 
This is an all-powerful motive. " Who brought you out of the land 
of Mizraim to be your God." Here is another ovewhelming motive. 
I have delivered you from bondage ; I am your God. " Who hallow 
you." Here is both motive and encouragement ; encouragement, be- 
cause he who is hallowed of God is thereby endowed with a new life 
and enabled to glorify God in all things. The chapter is closed with 
the animating watchword, " I am the Lord." 

34 



266 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

NOTES. 

18. Kara iraaav 6fJLo\oyiav avruw rj Kara 7racrav atpecrtv avrutv. 
22. Ulcerous, rijsn , flowing out ; /zvp/z^/aajvra, warty. 

24. Bruised, ?jwn , pressed ; 0AaSi'as . Crushed, r^rs , beaten in 
pieces ; cktc^Xi/x/xcVos. Torn, JMW , rent ; e/cro/xias. Cw£, M*© ; d7T€cr- 
Tracrficj/os. 

25. Corruption, WTOO , marring ; <f>6apiia.Ta. Pn«5 , corrupt. 



XXm. CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

There are in this chapter five communications to Moses for the 
children of Israel in general. The first refers to the weekly sabbath 
and the passover (1-8) ; the second to the wave-sheaf and the feast 
of weeks (9-22) ; the third to the new moon of the seventh month 
(23-25) ; the fourth to the day of atonement (26-32) ; and the fifth 
to the feast of tabernacles (33-44). It is an enlargement of the 
second half of the section on set times in Ex. xxiii. 10-19. It is a 
chapter of much interest in many respects. 

1-8. This communication consists of an introduction (1, 2), and 
two parts relating to the weekly sabbath (3), and the passover (4-8). 
First, the introduction. 2. The set times. 2 The original word means 
a time or place appointed for meeting. Holy convocations. These 
are meetings called together for holy or religious ends. Their pur- 
pose is defined by the epithet holy. There were other convocations 
for secular purposes. These are my set times. After giving the first 
place to the prominent object, the sentence is formed independently 
and completely. These set times have a sacred purpose and a divine 
authority. 3. The weekly sabbath. This is here placed at the head 
of the Lord's set times. Six days shall work be done. This is indeed 
a permission to labor ; but it is also an injunction. The proper part 
of man with his present nature and in his present condition is rational 
employment. The effect of the fall on him and his surroundings has 
been to harden this native activity of purpose and endeavor into labor 
and toil. But on the seventh day. The number seven here comes 
into play. There is, undoubtedly, in the physical constitution of man 



LEVITICUS XXIII 1-3. 267 

XXIII. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel and say unto them : The set times of 
the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, 
these are my set times. 3. Six days shall work be done : but 
on the seventh day is a sabbath of rest, a holy convocation ; 
ye shall do no work ; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your 
dwellings. ^f 

a reason for the seventh day's rest. See on Ex. xx. 10. A sabbath 
of rest. This phrase is applied twice to the day of atonement and 
once to the sabbatical year (xxv. 4). When applied to a day it 
denotes a resting from all work in the ordinary sense of the term. 
A holy convocation. This is a most important intimation concerning 
the sabbath. It was a set day of meeting together for social worship. 
This was its chief distinction for the people. In the place where God 
was pleased to record his name no doubt the second morning and eve- 
ning lamb was offered on this day. But this involved the presence 
and action of the priest only whose turn it was to officiate. And even 
if such places had been multiplied, so that every tribe might have its 
sanctuary, the sabbath offerings might not have been multiplied, and 
they did not afford to all the people the religious exercises and in- 
struction which they needed. But the holy convocation brought 
together the multitude who kept the holy day to the stated place of 
social worship. Speaking to the congregation and addressing God 
were the essential constituents of this simple worship. The former 
branched into reading the book of revelation and adding the word of 
instruction and exhortation ; the latter into the song of praise and the 
voice of prayer. Ye shall do no work. "Work was of two kinds : 
labor and business ; labor being the toil of the hands, business the ex- 
ercise of trade. Neither was to be done on the weekly sabbath. A 
sabbath to the Lord, dedicated to him, and therefore to communion 
with him. In all your dwellings. This is a very significant phrase. 
It distinguishes the convocation of the weekly sabbath from that of 
the annual festival. In the latter the meeting-place was the sanctuary, 
whether of the nation or the tribe ; in the former the village-green, 
where public meetings were wont be held, and which was at a conve- 



268 CONCERNING SET DAY. 

4. These are the set times of the Lord, holy convocations, 
which ye shall proclaim in their set times. 5. In the first 
month on the fourteenth of the month between the evenings 
is the passover to the Lord. 6. And on the fifteenth day of 
this month is the feast of sweet bread unto the Lord ; seven 
days ye shall eat sweet bread. 7. On the first day ye shall 
have a holy convocation ; ye shall do no servile work. 8. And 
ye shall make a fire-offering unto the Lord seven days ; on the 
seventh day is a holy convocation ; ye shall do no servile work, ^f 

nient distance from the surrounding homesteads. These weekly meet- 
ings kept alive the knowledge and piety of the simple yeoman in all 
the land. As the climate was mild they did not need a covered building. 
Their synagogue was the canopy of heaven, or the wide-spreading tree 
in the green of every hamlet. This verse therefore provides for the 
early origin of the primitive synagogue. The origin of the stone and 
lime synagogue is a matter of comparatively little importance. This 
single verse affords an interesting prospect of the unwritten history 
of Israel's rural piety. 

4-8. The passover and feast of unleavened bread. 4. These are the 
set times. After the weekly sabbath comes a general heading for the 
annual festivals. 5. In the first month. This became the first month 
on the appointment of the Lord (Ex. xii. 2) at the departure from 
Egypt. On the fourteenth. The paschal lamb was set apart on the 
tenth and slain on the fourteenth (Ex. xii. 6). Between the evenings. 
The slaying of the lamb took place in the last quarter of the day before 
sunset, since if it had been after sunset it would not have been on the 
fourteenth, but on the following day. Passover to the Lord, kept in 
honor of the Lord, and in commemoration of the signal deliverance 
which accompanied its first celebration (Ex. xii.). 6. And on the fif- 
teenth. This is the first of the seven days of sweet or unleavened bread. 
7. It is a day of holy convocation. No servile work. Servile work 
is manual labor in contrast with business, such as buying and selling. 
It is to be observed that this day is not called a sabbath, but a holy 
convocation in which no servile work is to be done. 8. Afire-offering, 
a propitiatory sacrifice. This is specified in Num. xviii. Seven days 



LEVITICUS XXIII. 8-11. 269 

9. And the Loud spake unto Moses, saying, 10. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When ye go into 
the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then ye shall 
bring the sheaf of first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest. 
11. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for your 
acceptance ; on the morrow of the sabbath the priest shall 

are fire-offerings to be made. The seventh day is like the first, a day 
of holy convocation and abstinence from servile work. It is not called 
a sabbath. The intervening days have their appropriate sacrifices, 
but labor is not suspended. It is manifest that on the establishment 
of the people in the land and their dispersion over a wide territory 
local sanctuaries would have been needed, if the attendance of the 
whole community on the national festivals was to be secured. 

9-14. The second communication begins with the wave-sheaf. 
10. When ye go into the land. These directions are preparatory to 
their settlement in a country of their own. The passover itself had 
no necessary connection with landed property ; but the harvest had. 
The sheaf of first-fruits of your harvest. This, as it came from the 
hands of a grateful nation, was a sheaf of newly-reaped barley. At 
a later period it was parched, rubbed out, winnowed, and bruised in 
a mortar, and then a portion of it burnt on the altar ; but this does 
not comport with the simplicity of the early custom. The barley was 
ripe about the middle of April and the wheat about three weeks later 
in the warmer parts of Palestine. 11. And he shall wave the sheaf. 
Communion with one another in this offering is prominent. This is 
the sheaf of the commonwealth of Israel. For your acceptance. 
This acknowledgement of God as the Giver of the harvest is accept- 
able to him. It is typical of the great propitiation, on the ground of 
which all are accepted. On the morrow of the sabbath. The small 
minority of interpreters, Rabbinical and Christian, are certainly right 
in maintaining that the sabbath here mentioned is the weekly sab- 
bath, and not the first day of unleavened bread, for the following reasons : 
1. This secti6n is a new communication, distinct from that relating to 
the feast of unleavened bread. It is worthy of remark that the sab- 
bath here is left undetermined, in order to suit the harvest. It cannot 



270 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

wave it. 12. And ye shall offer in the day of your waving the 
sheaf a perfect he-lamb of the first year for a burnt-sacrifice 
to the Lord. 13. And its oblation, two tenths of fine flour 

be proved that it belonged at first to the seven days of unleavened 
bread, however probable it may appear, though afterwards it actually 
did. In Deut. xvi. 9 the feast of weeks is reckoned simply from the 
putting of the sickle to the standing corn. 2. The first day of un- 
leavened bread is not called a sabbath, but simply a day of holy con- 
vocation, in which no servile work was to be done. 3. The feast of 
weeks was on the morrow of the sabbath (vs. 15), and this sabbath 
can only be the weekly sabbath. But it was the fiftieth day from the 
day of the wave-sheaf, inclusive, and hence this also must have been 
the day after a weekly sabbath. Moreover they were expressly to 
count seven sabbaths from the morrow of the sabbath to the morrow 
of the sabbath ; and as the latter can only be a weekly sabbath, so 
must the former. This argument is decisive of itself. The only way 
of evading it, is by assuming that the sabbath means in vs. 15 not even 
a week, but a period of seven days beginning with any day. 4. And 
therefore it is to be observed that the sabbath in the Old Testament 
does not mean a week, and nowhere does it mean any seven days be- 
ginning on any day of the week. Josephus, it is true, (Antiq. iii. 10, 
5), states that the sheaf of first-fruits was presented on the sixteenth 
of Nisan ; but this is merely the interpretation or the practice of his 
time and of his party. The Sept. also by the rendering " on the mor- 
row of the first," 11 and Onk. by the phrase "after the good day," are 
supposed to countenance the statement of Josephus. But neither of 
them has given an exact version of the original words, and they are 
both too late to outweigh the reasons assigned. 5. It must be added 
as a fifth reason, that the only sabbath mentioned in the New Testament 
in connection with the feast of unleavened bread is the weekly sabbath 
whicli fell on the day after the first day of the feast, that several 
things were done on this first day which were not consistent with a 
strict sabbath, as, a judicial investigation (Matt. xxvi. 57), a crucifix- 
ion (John xix. 31), buying fine linen and buying and preparing spices 
(Mark xv. 46 ; xvi. 1 ; Luke xxiii. 56). Hence the day of presenting 
the wave-sheaf was the first day of the week, according to the original 



LEVITICUS XXTTT. 12-17. 271 

mingled with oil, a fire-offering to the Lord for a sweet smell ; 
and its libation of wine, the fourth of a bin. 14. And bread 
or parched corn or fresh ears ye shall not eat until this same 
day that ye bring the offering of your God ; it is a statute 
forever for your generations in all your dwellings. § 

15. And ye shall count for you from the morrow of the 
sabbath, from the day that ye bring the wave sheaf; seven 
sabbaths shall be complete. 16. Unto the morrow of the 
seventh sabbath ye shall count fifty days ; and ye shall offer 
a new oblation unto the Lord. 17. From your dwellings ye 
shall bring bread of waving, two cakes of two tenths ; they 
shall be of flour ; with leaven shall they be baken ; They are 

institution. 12, 13. Along with the sheaf is offered a perfect lamb for 
a burnt-sacrifice, with its oblation and libation. Two tenths of an 
ephah are here prescribed, instead of one, for a lamb (Num. xxviii. 
31), perhaps because it accompanied the oblation of first-ripe grain. 
14. And bread. No part of the new crop was to be used for food 
until this sheaf was offered. In all your dwellings. This was a rule 
to be observed in every household. 

15-22. The feast of weeks is the second part of this communication. 
It is evidently connected as a continuation and completion with the 
wave-sheaf at the beginning of harvest. And ye shall count. The 
counting is made simple by the seven squared. Seven sabbaths shall 
be complete. The seventh sabbath shall be fulfilled. 16. Until the 
morrow of the seventh sabbath. This will be the fiftieth day from the 
sabbath of the feast of unleavened bread. A new oblation. The 
wave-sheaf was an oblation at the beginning of harvest, and this was 
a new oblation at the end of the wheat harvest. It is made of the 
new wheat, as the former was of barley. 17. From your dwellings, 
not from the field, as the wave-sheaf was brought. This too was a 
national offering. Two cakes of two tenths, double that which accom- 
panied the wave-sheaf. With leaven, because it is to be the ordinary 
bread of your homes. The early fruits. These are different from 
the sheaf of first-fruits. The latter was the first sheaf of the barley 



272 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

the early fruits unto the Lord. 18. And ye shall offer with 
the bread seven perfect lambs of the first year and one bullock 
of the herd and two rams ; they shall be a burnt-sacrifice to 
the Lord with their oblation and their libation, a fire-offering 
of a sweet smell unto the Lord. 19. And ye shall offer one 
kid of the goats for a sin-sacrifice, and two lambs of the first 
year for a sacrifice of peace. 20. And the priest shall wave 
them with the bread of the early fruits for a waving before the 
Lord upon the two lambs ; they shall be holy unto the Lord 
for the priest. 21. And ye shall proclaim this same day, a 
holy convocation shall it be unto you, ye thall do no servile 
work ; it is a statute forever in all your dwellings for your 
generations. 22. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, 

harvest. The former was the early wheat manufactured into fine 
flour. 18. The sacrifice consists of the sacred number of lambs, a 
bullock and two rams for a burnt-sacrifice, accompanied with their 
oblations and libations according to Num. xxviii. The great pro- 
pitiation is represented here in a very significant manner. This is 
peculiarly appropriate when the grain harvest is completed. Bread 
is the staff of life. And it is the propitiatory sacrifice that guarantees 
life and all its blessings to those who are ready to perish. 19. A sin- 
sacrifice for any inadvertence was the suitable acknowledgement of 
personal defect and the typical pleading of the true expiation for sin. 
A sacrifice of peace comes appropriately from the nation now in com- 
munion with God. 20. Shall wave them, the two lambs with the 
bread of early fruits upon them. The peace-offering is evidently the 
crowning act to which the others led the way, as peace with God is 
the unspeakable privilege of the nation this day. They shall he holy 
unto the Lord for the priest. The peace-sacrifice was usually eaten 
by the offerer. As the holy nation is here the offerer the priest acts 
as its representative. 21. Ye shall proclaim this same day. The 
nature of the proclamation follows. The Pentecost is a day of holy 
convocation in which no servile work is to be done. This is a per- 
petual custom. 22. In this new connection the injunction of xix. 9 



LEVITICUS XXIII. 22-24. 273 

thou shalt not clear out the corner of thy field when thou 
reapest, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt not gather ; 
to the poor and to the stranger thou shalt leave it : I am the 
Lord your God. ^[ 

23. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 24. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month in the 
first of the month ye shall have a rest, a memorial of the 

is with, a kindly impressiveness repeated. The interval between the 
offering of the wave-sheaf and the wave-cakes was the time of grain 
harvest. The latter was therefore the completion of the former. It 
is obvious that the immediate reference of these festivals is to the 
operations of the harvest. At the same time it is manifest that we 
have now completed a cycle of festivals which have a most intimate 
and profound union among themselves. The passover represents 
death ; the wave-sheaf and the wave-loaves symbolize life. The 
Messiah is priest, king, and prophet. As priest he is the Lamb of 
God that taketh away the sin of the world. As king, he is the wave- 
sheaf, the first-fruits from the dead. This has peculiar force when 
we remember that he rose on the first day of the week and the very 
day of the wave-sheaf being offered. As prophet, when the day of 
Pentecost was fully come he sent the promise of the Father, the 
Spirit of Truth and of utterance upon the disciples, the full harvest of 
their waiting and praying, the bread of eternal life for their hungering 
souls. In this brief period of seven times seven days there is a typ- 
ical epitome of the history of salvation. 

23-25. The feast of the blowing of the trumpet. This is the third 
communication. 24. In the seventh month. Like the seventh day 
this month has a sacred significance. As the first month of the civil 
year it has also a distinct importance. On the first day of the month. 
This was the new year's clay of the primeval year. It was therefore 
the anniversary of the first day of that creation to which man belongs. 
Ye shall have a rest. This, as we shall see, is not a full sabbath, but 
a rest from labor. A memorial of the trumpet blast. It was com- 
memorative of creation, an event of paramount importance and glad- 
ness, which was celebrated by the blowing of the trumpet. A holy 
35 



274 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

trumpet blast, a holy convocation. 25. Ye shall do no servile 
work ; and ye shall make a fire-offering unto the Lord. § 

26. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 27. But on 
the tenth of the seventh month is the day of atonement : it 
shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your 
souls ; and ye shall make a fire-offering to the Lord. 28. And 
ye shall do no work on this same day ; for it is a day of 
atonement, to atone for you before the Lord your God. 
29. For every soul that shall not be afflicted on this same day 
shall be cut off from his people. 30. And every soul that 
doeth any work on this same day, I will destroy that soul from 
among his people. 31. Ye shall do no work ; it is a statute 
forever for your generations in all your dwellings. 32. It 
is a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls : 

convocation. As this was not one of the great festival occasions, on 
which the people were to appear before the Lord, we may presume 
that it was celebrated not only in the tabernacle, but in all the dwell- 
ings of the people. It was an occasion of universal interest. A holy 
convocation for thanksgiving and prayer would be most suitable. 
25. No servile work. Though work not servile was permitted, the 
son of toil was to be released from his labor. Afire-offering. This 
is prescribed in Num. xxix 1—6. 

26-32. The fourth communication refers to the day of atonement. 
The account of this solemn day is given here to complete the series in 
a form abbreviated from chap. xvi. with some additions. 27. A fire- 
offering. This always denotes propitiation and acceptance. The 
peculiar rite of this day is described in chap. xvi. and the fire-offering 
in addition is given in Num. xxix. 7-11. 28. It has been already 
noticed that this is the only day of abstinence from all work beside 
the weekly Sabbath. The peculiarity of the day, as a time of atone- 
ment, is explained in chap. xvi. 29, 30. He that neglects to afflict 
his soul or to abstain from all work on this day is to be excommuni- 
cated. 31. This restriction is to be observed throughout the country 
in the homes of the people. 32. The sabbath of rest for humiliation 






LEVITICUS XXIIL 32-37. 275 

on the ninth of the month at even, from even unto even, ye 
shall keep your sabbath. ^f 

33. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 34. Speak unto 
the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh 
month is the feast of tabernacles seven days unto the Lord. 
35. On the first day shall be a holy convocation ; ye shall do 
no servile work. 36. Seven days ye shall offer a fire-offering 
unto the Lord ; on the eighth day ye shall have a holy convo- 
cation, and ye shall offer a fire-offering unto the Lord ; it is a 
solemnity ; ye shall do no servile work. 

37. These are the set times of the Lord, which ye shall 
proclaim to be holy convocations to offer a fire-offering unto 

and mourning is to be a complete day from sunset on the ninth to 
sunset on the tenth. 

33-36. This part of the fifth communication refers to the feast of 
tabernacles. 34. On the fifteenth day. This corresponds to the feast 
of sweet bread in the first month. Seven days. There were seven 
days of unleavened bread preceded by the pasch. 35. On the first 
day, as on the first day of sweet bread, a holy convocation and no ser- 
vile work. 36. In Num. xxix. 12-34 we have a minute regulation 
concerning the fire-offering of each day of the seven. On the eighth 
day. As the seven days of sweet bread were preceded by the paschal 
meal, so the seven days of tabernacles are followed by an eighth day, 
which is a day of holy convocation with its appropriate fire-offering 
prescribed in Num. xxix. 35-38. It is called the great day of the 
feast in John vii. 37, and has special reference to the ingathering 
(Ex. xxiii. 16). It is a solemnity ? Q This word is used of the last day 
of the feast of unleavened bread Deut. xvi. 8 and in Josephus, Antiq. 
iii. 10, 6, of the day of pentecost, w r hich is the closing day of the first 
cycle of festivals in the second year. This accords with the rendering 
of the Sept., assembly of closing or dismissal. The idea of restraint 
or sacred obligation is not inconsistent with this. 

37-44. A recapitulation, with an appendix on dwelling in booths. 
37. These are the set times. From this chapter it appears that there 



27(3 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

the Lord, a burnt-sacrifice and an oblation, a sacrifice and 
libations, each in its day. 38. Besides the sabbaths of the 
Lord and beside your gifts and beside all your tows and 
beside all your free-gifts, which ye give unto the Lord. 39. 
But in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye 
gather in the produce of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the 
Lord seven days, on the first day a rest, and on the eighth day 

were seven days on which labor or servile work was suspended : the 
first and seventh clays of the feast of sweet bread, the day of the feast 
of harvest, the new moon of the seventh month, the day of atonement, 
and the first and eighth clays of the feast of ingathering. Of these the 
day of atonement alone was a sabbath of rest, in which all kinds of 
work were to cease. Hence we perceive that the Supreme Governor, 
who demanded the weekly sabbath, was very far from multiplying 
other days of cessation from labor, and required only one other day 
of absolute rest from all business. A fire-offering unto the Lord. 
These are all specified in Num. xxviii., xxix. The different kinds 
are the burnt-sacrifice, the oblation or meat-offering, the sacrifice, 
including the peace-offering, the sin-sacrifice, and the trespass-offering, 
with the libation or drink-offering. Hence it appears that some 
portion or memorial of the libation was cast upon the fire of the altar. 
38. Beside the sabbaths. These form a class by themselves, the 
weekly set times. Beside your gifts, which are not sacrifices at all. 
Beside all your vows. The vows and free gifts come under the head 
either of peace-offerings or of burnt-sacrifices. 39. But. Another 
aspect of the feast of tabernacles is now presented. When ye gather 
in the produce. It is the feast of ingathering. Ripe grapes can be 
found in July ; but the general vintage of Palestine is in September. 
The whole produce of the ground may therefore be gathered in at 
the feast of ingathering, which was at the full moon next the autumnal 
equinox. On the first day a rest. m The rest here is not the word 
sabbath, which applies only to the weekly sabbath, the day of atone- 
ment, and the sabbatical year. It is the partial rest — the rest from 
labor or servile work — which characterizes all the other days of holy 
convocation, as we see from the following verse. 40. Take unto you 



LEVITICUS XXIII. 40-43. 277 

a rest. 40. And ye shall take unto you on the first day the 
fruit of goodly trees, shoots of palms and branches of leafy 
trees and willows of the brook ; and ye shall be glad before 
the Lord your God seven days. 41. And ye shall keep a feast 
unto the Lord seven days in the year ; it is a statute forever 
for your generations ; in the seventh month ye shall keep it. 
42. In booths ye shall dwell seven days, all that are born in 
Israel shall dwell in booths. 43. That your generations may 
know that I made the sons of Israel dwell in booths, when I 

on the first day. The taking of branches and forming of booths were 
not work to be done on the strict sabbath, but only on those festive 
days on which abstinence from servile work only was required. Fruit 
of goodly trees, branches with leaves, blossoms, and whatever fruit 
was upon them. Shoots of palms. These are the spreading leaves 
of the palm. This tree, of which there are said to be a thousand 
kinds, is the characteristic tree of Palestine. Leafy trees, abounding 
in intertwining shoots and leaves. Willows of the brook, that grow by 
the watercourses in the meadows. Ye shall be glad. This is the 
season of rejoicing, because the products of the labor of the year have 
been gathered, and in the order of a kind Providence it satisfies the 
wants and gratifies the tastes of the rational and susceptible race. Seven 
days, as usual, the time of perfection. 41. This is to be a perpetual 
ordinance. 42. In booths. The booth is a hut made of branches of 
trees, with the green leaves on. The tabernacle is a structure of 
boards, and therefore more permanent. The tent is an awning of 
goats' or camels' hair cloth, supported by a pole or poles. All that 
are born in Israel. They are all entitled to take part in this solem- 
nity, and all that can and will are certain to join in it. To insist on 
absolute universality is to become the bond-slave of the letter. 43. 
That your generation may know. Commemoration is suited to the 
genius of humanity. History is the memory of moments or turning- 
points in the progressive development of mankind. And these mo- 
ments are pregnant with instruction for all coming generations. 
Dwell in booths. This festival is commemorative of the Israelites 
dwelling in booths at Succoth (booths), when they came out of Egypt. 



278 CONCERNING SET DAYS. 

brought them out of the land of Mizraim : I am the Lord your 
God. 44. And Moses spake of the set times of the Lord unto 
the sons of Israel. *[[ 

Hence we see that several ends and lessons may coincide in the same 
solemnity. This is the feast of ingathering because the increase of 
the field was now gathered in, and the feast of tabernacles in remem- 
brance of the deliverance from Egypt. The seven days referred 
especially to the commemoration of the past (Deut. xvi. 13, 14) ; the 
eighth day to the crowning of the year with the goodness of the Lord 
in the ingathering of the harvest. 

Hence we are led by an easy path to a higher significance of all 
these set times. This arises from the reference not merely to natural 
and historical events, but, above all, to the God of nature and history. 
We recognize in the cycle of the seventh month the primeval religion 
of universal man. The day of the new moon of the original beginning 
of the year is the stated anniversary of the six days' creation. The 
dawn of human history is celebrated by the blowing of the trumpet. 
After this, on the tenth of the month, comes the day of atonement, 
the day of confession of sin and repentance toward God ; the origin 
of which is to be found in the fall of man, if it do not call to remem- 
brance the date of that first disobedience. It speaks of self-condem- 
nation, but at the same time of pardon and acceptance through the 
mercy of God. The day of ingathering would have been the meet 
sequel of the day of creation, if no fall had intervened to disturb the 
moral order of things. The holy soul in the full tide of its happiness 
would have poured forth its spontaneous notes of gratitude to the 
God of light and right and love. When Adam yielded to temptation, 
however, the mystery of mercy came forth in a word of invitation 
from the holy breast of God ; and so hope awoke in the guilty breast 
of man, and faith still stepped forth to celebrate the feast of ingather- 
ing, the earnest of all blessings in time and in eternity from the hands 
of God through the mediation of the great High-Priest. 

On this ancient stock of the catholic church of Adam . and Noah 
was grafted the vine brought out of Egypt with its peculiar ordinances, 
its new beginning of the year, its passover, feast of unleavened bread, 
and feast of weeks. These, also, only rise to their true significance 



LEVITICUS XXHL 44. 279 

when we remember their relation to God. The paschal lamb and its 
accompanying seven days festival bring out into a new prominence 
the propitiation for sin. The feast of first-fruits and the pentecost 
after seven times seven days, like the circumcision after seven days, 
celebrate the second great element of salvation, the spiritual resurrec- 
tion and purification of the soul, the first-fruits of the Spirit, by which 
it is determined to accept the atonement and realize the blessedness 
of freedom and peace. In the unsearchable wisdom of the provident 
Disposer of all events the solemnities of the second half of the second 
year now fall into one compact whole, foreshadowing the full enjoy- 
ment of pardon, the third part of the great salvation, in itself the 
source and sum of all the rest, and inclusive of perpetual acceptance, 
adoption, and inheritance. Thus the revolution of every sacred year 
presents before the sanctified imagination, in orderly succession, the 
atonement, the new birth, and the inheritance of the saints in the 
kingdom of God. And this remarkable chapter shows that the set 
times of the Lord are the several stages of the kingdom of God here 
on earth. 

NOTES. 

2. Set time 1?15a 3 appointed time or place : eo/mj. an , vs. 6, feast ; toprrj. 

11. Trj iiravpiov rrjs 7rpwT7]<5. The statement in Josh. v. 11, "they 
ate of the corn of the land on the morrow after the passover un- 
leavened cakes and parched corn in the self-same day," refers to the 
first day of unleavened bread when they began to eat of the bread 
of the land, on which the manna ceased, and has no bearing on the 
question of the wave-sheaf. The view of this question given in the 
text is that of the Baithusians, who were akin to the Sadducees and 
the Karaites, and alone serves to harmonize the different accounts of 
the crucifixion. 

36. Solemnity rHXS assembly of restraint, detention, or conclusion: 
i£6§Lov, closing meeting ; r. shut in, restrain. It is applied in Isa. i. 13 
and Joel i. 14 to a suspension of servile work for a religious solem- 
nity, and in Jer. ix. 1 to a confederacy of wicked men. It occurs 
about ten times ; in four of which it applies to the last day of the 
feast of ingathering. 

39. A rest ^ttjXB; dva7rawi?. r&tt5; the sabbath, applied only to 
the weekly Sabbath, the day of atonement and the sabbatical year : 
o-afifiarov, <xa/3/?aTa. 



280 OF THE HOUSE OF GOD. 



XXIV. OF THE HOUSE OF GOD. 



XXIV. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Com- 
mand the sons of Israel, and let them fetch the pure olive oil 
beaten for the light to kindle a continual lamp. 3. Without 
the veil of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall 
order it from evening to morning before the Lord continually ; 
it is a statute forever for your generations. 4. Upon the 
clean candlestick he shall order the lamps before the Lord 
continually. ^[ 

5. And thou shalt take fine flour and bake it into twelve 
cakes ; two tenths shall be the one cake. 6. And thou shalt set 
them in two piles, six in the pile, on the clean table before the 

In this chapter are two communications ; one concerning the house 
of God (1-9), and another concerning the honor of his name (10-23). 
They are both made to Moses. The first communication contains 
two parts, one for the sons of Israel concerning the light for the 
candlestick (1-4), and another concerning the bread for the table in 
the house of the Lord (5-9). The second communication is prefaced 
by a narrative of the occasion on which it was given (10-12). 

1-4. The light for the golden candlestick. This is repeated in a 
new connection, having been already given in Ex. xxvii. 20, 21, 
where it has been already explained. 4. The clean candlestick, made 
of pure gold, and free from all soil. See on Ex. xxxi. 8. On this 
second communication being made it is probable that the provision 
and preparation immediately followed. It may have been given 
before the consecration of the priests along with the following 
regulation. 

5-9. The bread for the table. This is now specified for the first 
time. 5. Fine flour. Of this there must be twenty-four omers, as 
there are two omers in each cake. An omer was the portion of 
manna gathered by each Israelite in the wilderness. It contained 
about three and one-half pints. The two omers are a double portion, 
and indicate the abundance of blessing in God's house. G. In two 



LEVITICUS XXIV. 6-9. 281 

Lord. 7. And thou slialt put upon the pile pure frankincense ; 
and it shall be on the bread for a memorial, a fire-offering unto 
the Lord. 8. Every sabbath-day he shall lay it before the Lord 
continually, from the sons of Israel it is a perpetual covenant. 
9. And it shall be to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it 
in a holy place ; for it is most holy unto him of the fire-offerings 
of the Lord by a statute forever. § 

piles. The table was two cubits long and one broad. A pint contains 
about 34.6 cubic inches, and therefore two omers, or seven pints, are 
equal to 242.2 such inches. Hence a cake of two omers of flour would 
be about 9 by 9 by 3 inches or 12 by 7 by 3 inches, if there Mas no 
increase by kneeding and baking. It is obvious, therefore, that the 
arrangement must be a pile, which would be eighteen inches high. 
The clean table. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure 
gold (Ex. xxv. 23-30), and, of course, free from any stain. 7. Pure 
frankincense. The bread was placed on two plates or trays, and the 
frankincense in two bowls. These vessels were of pure gold. Frank- 
incense is an emblem of acceptance for the suppliant. A memorial, 
calling to mind the whole table fare, of which it was the part that 
was eventually burned upon the altar. Afire offering. The burning 
of that which was placed on the altar was the sign of the offering 
being accepted ; and the burning of incense was the token of accepted 
prayer. Every victim burned on the altar was transformed into a 
perfume, a sweet smell unto the Lord. 8. Every sabbath-day the 
bread was to be renewed. It was a work of necessity which might be 
performed even on the sabbath (Ex. xii. 1G). From the sons of 
Israel it is a perpetual covenant. The people had evidently a special 
connection with the bread. There were twelve cakes, as there were 
twelve tribes in Israel. Bread, the staff of life, is a fit emblem of the 
blessing of the covenant. The benefit implied the fulfilment of the 
covenant, that is, the righteousness which gave the legal title to eter- 
nal life. Hence this bread on the table of the Lord from the twelve 
tribes of Israel is an appropriate token of the perpetual covenant 
between the Lord and his people. 9. It shall be to Aaron and his 
sons. The bread when taken away was to be eaten by the priests in 



282 OF THE HOUSE OF GOD. 

10. And the son of a woman of Israel and of a man of 
Mizraim came out among the sons of Israel ; and the son of 
the woman of Israel and a man of Israel strove in the camp. 

11. And the son of the woman of Israel blasphemed the name 
and cursed ; and they brought him to Moses ; and his mother's 
name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. 

12. And they put him in ward, that he might expound unto 
them from the mouth of the Lord. ^f 

13. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 14. Bring 
forth him that cursed without the camp, and let all that heard 

a holy place, within the precincts of the tabernacle. The frankincense 
was doubtless burned upon the altar of incense. The bread is the 
emblem of the blessings of life, as the seven lamps are of the light 
of life. The incense on the golden altar standing between the table 
and the candlestick is the memorial of the ransom of life. The first 
speaks to us of the Father, the second of the Spirit, and the third of 
the Messiah. 

10-12. These verses record the occasion of a new communication 
from the Lord. 10. Game out among the sons of Israel. Being an 
Egyptian by the father's side, he had no place among the Israelites, 
except as a stranger, a proselyte to the true God. He seems to have 
intruded into the camp of Israel. This may have been part of the 
occasion of the strife. 11. In the heat of the struggle he blasphemed 
the name. This is the exclusive name of God, Jehovah, which was 
not even pronounced by the Jews of a later period, and which is 
usually rendered " the Lord " in the English version. This man in- 
herited from his father at least a wavering mind, and in the fury of 
his resentment provoked his antagonist in the highest degree by blas- 
pheming the name of God and cursing ; thus adding imprecation to 
blasphemy. This led to the prompt interference of the bystanders, 
who brought him to Moses. . 1 2. He is put in ward until a definite 
sentence is obtained from the Lord. This is revealed to Moses in a 
new communication. 

13-23. General directions for cases of strife. 14. Bring forth. 
The blasphemer is by the very act excommunicated, and therefore 



LEVITICUS XXIV. 14-23. 283 

lay their hands upon his head ; and let all the assembly stone 
him. 15. And to the sons of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, 
Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16. And he 
that blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall be put to death ; 
all the assembly shall stone him ; as the stranger, so the home- 
born, when he blasphemeth the name shall die. 17. And he 
that smiteth a man's life shall be put to death. 18. And he 
that smiteth a beast's life shall make it good, life for life. 19. 
And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor, as he hath done 
so shall it be done to him. 20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, 
tooth for tooth ; as he causeth a blemish in the man so shall it 
be done to him. 21. And he that smiteth a beast shall restore 
it ; and he that smiteth a man shall die. 22. Ye shall have 
one judgment ; as the stranger so shall the home-born be ; for 
I am the Lord your God. 23. And Moses spake to the sons 

removed from the camp. All that heard. The witnesses are solemnly 
to identify and lay on him the guilt by laying on their hands. All the 
assembly. They, as well as the witnesses, by their judicial acts prac- 
tically abjure all participation in his guilt. 15. And to the sons of 
Israel. Here we have further instructions called forth by the occasion. 
16. He that curses God or blasphemes the sacred name, whether 
stranger or homeborn, is to be stoned by the assembly. 17. He that 
smiteth a man's life, smiteth him so as to take his life, is to be put to 
death. 18. He that killeth another man's beast must give a beast of 
equal value. 19. He that causeth a blemish in another shall suffer 
the like blemish on himself. 20. The lex talionis, or law of retali- 
ation, is here repeated (Ex. xxi. 24), for the guidance of the civil mag- 
istrate. It is not lawful for the subject to take the execution of the 
law into his own hands. But it is his right to appeal to the magistrate, 
who is to administer the law of equity. 21, 22. The law of distrib- 
utive justice is here reiterated for the sake of emphasis, and applied 
equally to the native and the stranger. 23. The sentence on the 
blasphemer is now executed according to the word of the Lord, on 
whose authority the whole administration of justice in Israel rests. 



284 0F THE HOUSE OF GOD. 

of Israel, and they brought forth the blasphemer out of the 
camp and stoned him with stones : and the sons of Israel did 
as the Lord commanded Moses. 82 ^f ^f ^f 

Even the judicial procedure of this chapter belongs to religion. It 
belongs, moreover, to the house of God, which is the seat of justice. 
The name of the Chief Ruler has been blasphemed in his very court. 
His attendants report the case to him in the tent of meeting, consult 
him and receive instructions from him in this earthly home how to 
deal with the offender. The chapter has therefore a fundamental 
unity, and the compiler is warranted in the arrangement of its appar- 
ently incongruous parts. The present section has a logical sequence 
in the whole of its topics. It treats of the priests, the offerings, the 
set times, and household arrangements of the Lord. It enters into a 
series of details which could not have been so clearly brought out in 
any other connection. The ingenuity of this arrangement is much 
more apparent when we consider that the whole section consists of a 
series of pieces, which the writer received from another and was only 
authorized to put in order. 



SECTION YI. — MATTERS PARTLY CIVIL, PARTLY 
RELIGIOUS. 

XXV. SABBATICAL YEARS. 

In this section there is a mingling of the secular and the sacred. 
It contains only two communications, of which the one occupies two 
chapters and the other one. The subject of the former is the sab- 
batical year. It falls into two parts, of which the one contains a code 
of regulations for its observance and provisions concerning liberty and 
property, and the other an admonition setting forth the blessings 
attendant upon its observance and the evils consequent upon its 
neglect, in the form of promises and warnings. The topic of the 
latter is the vow, which comes naturally after the sabbatical year, as 
some cf its regulations depend on the jubilee. It appears from the 
commencement and close of the first communication, and from the 
close of the second that they were both made in Mount Sinai, and 
therefore antecedent to some of those in the intervening sections, and 
about the same time with those in the first section of this book. They 
are both designed for the whole nation. 

The twenty-fifth chapter begins with the institution of the sabbatical 
year (1-7). The remainder of the chapter is occupied with the 
jubilee and its legal effects on property and liberty. After a definition 
of the jubilee (8-12), the legal return of every man to his land, with 
its effect on contracts, is described in 13-34, and the emancipation of 
the serf, with its consequent arrangements, is set forth in 35-55. 

1-7. The sabbatical year. 1. In Mount Sinai. This communica- 
tion must have been made either during the forty days while Moses 
was on the mount with God, or afterwards, in the temporary tent of 
meeting, which may have been on the slope of the mount. The date 
is a clear proof that the sacred penman, who received these various 

285 



286 SABBATICAL YEARS. 

XXV. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, say- 
ing, 2. Speak unto the sons of Israel, and say unto them, When 
ye go into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep 
a sabbath unto the Lord. 3. Six years thou shalt sow thy 
field and six years prune thy vineyard and gather its produce. 
4. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of 
rest, a sabbath unto the Lord : thou shalt not sow thy field 
nor prune thy vineyard. 5. The self-growth of thy harvest 
thou shalt not reap, nor gather the grapes of thy nazarite 

messages from heaven in a certain order of time, was yet moved to 
put them together according to a certain order of thought. Until we 
have descried the principle that governed his arrangement we are not 
in a condition to judge of its propriety. 2. When ye go into the land. 
This and the following communication, like most of those in the 
preceding two sections contemplate the state of things not in the wil- 
derness but in the future land. Then shall the land keep a sabbath. 
Man's surroundings are modified by his moral nature. As the rational 
agency of man for a proposed end is something beyond the instinctive 
activity of the mere animal nature, and requires a special rest on the 
seventh day, so the cultivation of the field accomplished by such 
agency causes an extraordinary growth beyond the spontaneous effort 
of nature ; and the ground that is so treated requires a special period, 
a seventh year, of rest, beyond the mere repose of the winter. See on 
Ex. xx. 10. Hence a cultivation for six years is to be followed by 
a cessation on the seventh year. - The cultivator of the soil is aware 
of the necessity of this arrangement in all countries. It is the funda- 
mental principle of a rotation of treatment. 3, 4. Six years of agri- 
cultural industry. A sabbath unto the Lord. Though a physical 
reason lies at the root of this regulation, the sacred writer consistently 
with his principle and purpose, refers it to the God of the physical 
universe, from whose intelligent will the laws of nature ultimately 
proceed. On this year intelligent man is not to sow his field nor 
prune his vine, if he be in covenant with his God on the terms of the 
chosen people. 5. The self -growth, 5 that which grows of itself without 
sowing or tilling the soil. Thou shalt not reap, reaping for the purpose 



LEVITICUS XXV. 5-9. 287 

vine : it is a year of rest unto the land. 6. And the sabbath 
of the land shall be to you for food, to thee and to thy servant 
and to thy maid and to thy hireling and to thy guest, that 
sojourn with thee. 7. And to thy cattle and to the beasts that 
are in thy land shall all its produce be food. § 

8. And thou shalt count unto thee seven sabbaths of years, 
seven times seven years ; and the days of the seven sabbaths 
of years shall be to thee nine and forty years. 9. And thou 
shalt blow the trumpet of glad sound in the seventh month, on 

of ingathering is not to take place. TJiy nazarite vine, left unpruned, 
having all its tendrils hanging untouched, like the unshorn locks of 
the Nazarite. The poet speaks of the viridis coma of the vine. A 
year of rest unto the land, in which it is released from the operations 
of tilling, sowing, and ingathering. 6, 7. The sabbath of the land, 
that which grows spontaneously when the land, undisturbed by culture, 
enjoys a sabbath. To you for food, to thee. The owner and all others 
were to be on a footing of perfect equality. Each was permitted to 
gather for the present need, but not for store or sale. Thy guest is to 
be on a par with all thy other inmates. That sojourn with thee. 
This applies to the servants and the guests alike. And to thy cattle 
and to the beasts. To manifest the thorough return to the state of 
aboriginal liberty not only the cattle, but the wild animals are to 
share in the natural growth of the land. The wild animals would be 
merely those which are innoxious to man, and are allowed to exist in 
a land of civilization. It is not our part to estimate the result of such 
a regulation as this. It is enough to observe that the children of God 
would be secure from want under his beneficent providence, and that 
a considerable check would be put upon human cupidity. Certain 
results of this enactment are indicated by the legislator himself. 

8-12. The jubilee. Thou shalt count unto thee. Counting is a 
rational process, and reminds us that we are in the sphere of man 
communing with his Maker. Seven sabbaths of years, seven sabbatical 
years. A sabbath of a year is a sabbath that lasts a year, in contrast 
with a sabbath-day. These seven sabbath-years involve seven times 
seven years, or nine and forty years. The trumpets of glad sound? 



288 SABBATICAL YEARS. 

the tenth of the month ; in the day of atonement ye shall blow 
the trumpet in all your land. 10. And ye shall hallow the 
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land to all its inhabi- 
tants : it shall be a jubilee unto you, and ye shall return every 
man to his possession, and return every man to his family. 

of clangor, or joyful acclaim. In the seventh month. It appears that 
the sabbatical and jubilee years began in the seventh month, the first 
month of the primeval year. This is required by the natural history 
of the year. The sowing time in Palestine is about November, and 
therefore a month or two after the beginning of the original year, 
which was a little before the autumnal equinox. The reaping time is 
after the vernal equinox, terminating in the month of May, and the 
vintage in September. Now, if the sabbatical year began in Abib, 
about the vernal equinox, it would be the sowing of the preceding 
year that would be left unreaped, instead of the spontaneous growth 
of the sabbatical year, which is contrary to the text. But if it begin 
with Tisri, about the autumnal equinox, everything is in its natural 
order. The sowing is omitted in the second month, and the natural 
growth is unreaped in the eighth or ninth month. But it is to be 
observed that the sacred writer reckons the months according to the 
sacred year ; and, as the civil year began six months earlier, the first 
half of the seventh civil year would be the second half of the sixth 
sacred year. On the tenth of the month, on the day of atonement the 
trumpet was to sound. The clay of expiation, of ransom for sin, of 
release from doom, of restoration to life, liberty, and inheritance, was 
singularly appropriate for the opening of the jubilee. 10. And ye 
shall hallow the fiftieth year. The sabbatical was the forty-ninth year ; 
the jubilee is the fiftieth It is hallowed by its peculiar ordinances 
concerning liberty and property. And proclaim liberty. Liberty 
from bondage was secured to every Israelite at the end of six years 
by the civil law (Ex. xxi. 2). The jubilee, however, gave liberty to 
the serf in Israel whose term was not otherwise completed, so that at 
one and the same time for this year men were free all over the land. 
A jubilee 10 unto you, a trumpet-note of deliverance, a twofold de- 
liverance — every man to his possession and every man to his family. 



LEVITICUS XXV. 10-16. 289 

11. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; ye shall 
not sow nor reap its self-growth nor gather its nazarite vine. 

12. For it is the jubilee, it shall be holy unto you ; out of the 
field ye shall eat its produce. 13. In this year of the jubilee 
ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14. And 
when thou makest a sale to thy neighbor or buyest from the 
hand of thy neighbor, oppress ye not one another. 15. By 
the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy 
neighbor ; by the number of years of the crops he shall sell to 
thee. 16. According to the multitude of the years thou shalt 
increase its price, and according to the fewness of the years 
thou shalt diminish its price ; for the number of crops he 

All family rights of liberty and property are restored; all the 
breaches and disturbances of the last forty-nine years are healed and 
repaired. 11. That fiftieth year shall be like the forty-ninth and all 
seventh years before : there shall be no sowing nor pruning, no 
reaping nor gathering. 12. It is the jubilee, a holy year in its resti- 
tution of all temporal things. Out of the field, in common with all 
animated nature, not out of the private store gathered in this year, 
for there shall be none such, ye shall eat its produce. Such is the 
peculiar institution of the jubilee. 

13-34. This portion of the chapter treats of the inalienable inheri- 
tance of an Israelite, under two heads, sale and redemption. First, 
of sale (13-24). In this year of the jubilee, the first privilege of every 
Israelite is to return to his patrimonial estate. 14. Oppress ye not 
one another. In buying or selling there is to be no fraud or violence, 
no taking advantage of the necessities of any party. 15. The number 
of years after the last jubilee is to be deducted from the full number 
of forty-nine, and the number of crops for the remainder of the year 
is all that can be bought or sold. The buyer naturally looks to the 
number of years to be abated; the seller, to the number to be 
reckoned in the price. 16. The price is to be in proportion to the 
number of intervening years. So the land was not bought, but only the 
use of the fruit for a given number of years. 17. The fear of the Lord 



290 SABBATICAL YEARS. 

selleth unto thee. 17. And ye shall not oppress every one his 
neighbor, but thou shalt fear thy God : for I am the Lord your 
God. 18. And ye shall do my statutes and keep my judg- 
ments and do them ; and ye shall dwell in the land securely. 
19. And the land shall yield its fruit, and ye shall eat 
enough, and ye shall dwell on it securely. 20. And if ye 
say, What shall we eat the seventh year ? Lo, we shall not 
sow nor gather in our produce : 21. Then I will command 
my blessing upon you the sixth year, and it shall yield 

is to deter from oppression. 18. Keep ray judgments and do them, 
give heed to them with the intent of doing them, and carry this intent 
into effect. Dwell in the land securely, relying on the immutable 
promise of him who is holy, just, and true. 19. Yield its fruit. 
Happiness, consisting in the full enjoyment of all things needful, 
will be the invariable consequence of holiness. 20. And if ye say. 
This is the question of him who looks no further than the laws of 
nature, and is prone to conceive them absolutely immutable, or 
amenable to no higher law than he has observed. We shall not sow. 
We are required not to take the only means known to us of providing 
for our daily wants. 21. I will command my blessing. This is the 
higher law, to which nature yields obeisance. Moral ends transcend 
physical. Above nature is the God of nature, who has a moral 
creation to which the natural creation is merely subservient. Upon 
you, who bear my moral image, for whom the earth was made. The 
sixth year, of which they had a weekly illustration in the double 
manna of the sixth day. Produce for three years. The question in 
the letter regarded merely the sabbatical year. The answer reaches 
to the year of jubilee. It must be remembered, as has been noticed 
on vs. 9, that the first half of the seventh civil year was the second 
half of the sixth sacred year. In the language of the sacred year, 
then, which is that of the text, while the reaping of the sixth sacred 
year was also that of the sixth civil year, occurring in the first half 
of the one and in the second half of the other, yet, on the other hand, 
it was the sowing of the sixth sacred year that was to be omitted for 
the seventh or sabbath year ; for this was the sowing of the seventh 



LEVITICUS XXV. 21-25. 291 

produce for three years. 22. And ye shall sow the eighth 
year, and eat of the old produce until the ninth year ; until 
its produce come in ye shall eat the old. 23. And the land 
shall not be sold out and out : for the land is mine ; for ye 
are strangers and sojourners with me. 24. And in all the land 
of your possession ye shall grant redemption for the land. § 

25. If thy brother fail and sell part of his possession, his 
redeemer that is near of kin shall come and redeem that which 

civil year. In like manner, it was the sowing of the seventh sacred 
year that was to be omitted for the eighth or jubilee year ; for this 
was the sowing of the eighth civil year. And for the same reason 
still the sowing of the eighth sacred year, which is spoken of in vs. 
22, is that of the ninth civil year, which is, accordingly, as it ought 
to be, the year after the jubilee. We now understand produce for 
three years. The crop of the sixth sacred year is blessed so as to 
suffice, along with the spontaneous growth, for three years. There 
is no sowing in the sixth sacred (seventh civil) year, and in the case 
of the jubilee no sowing in the seventh sacred (eighth civil) year. 
22. But ye shall sow in the eighth year, that is, the eighth sacred 
year, or the first half of the ninth civil year. Hence, the crop of the 
sixth sacred year serves from the opening months of that year to the 
opening months of the ninth year. " Until its produce come in, ye 
shall eat of the old. 23. Sold out and out. It cannot be alienated 
beyond redemption. For the land is mine. It belonged not to the 
people, but to the Lord, who did not therefore allow the father to 
alienate from the son, as if it were his own absolutely. He could not 
encumber it beyond the fiftieth year, and seldom so long. Ye are 
strangers and sojourners with me. The land is for you, while you 
are on it, but no longer. It must then go to your descendant of the 
next generation. 24. The purchaser is even bound to restore it to 
the real owner, if he can pay the proportion of the purchase-money 
for the years that have yet to run till the jubilee. 

25-28. Land always redeemable. If thy brother fail, be reduced 
to poverty, and forced to sell some of his land. His redeemer? 5 This 
interesting term, which occurs so early as Gen. xlviii. 16, where it is 



292 SABBATICAL YEARS. 

his brother hath sold. 26. And if a man have no redeemer 
and his hand reach and he find enough to redeem it, 27. Then 
he shall count the years of its sale, and restore the surplus to 
the man to whom he sold it ; and he shall return to his pos- 
session. 28. And if his hand find not enough to restore to 
him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hands of the 
buyer until the year of jubilee, and it shall go out in the 
jubilee, and he shall return to his possession. § 

29. And if a man sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, 
then it may be redeemed until the end of the year after its 
sale ; for a term of days it may be redeemed. 30. And if it 
be not redeemed until the whole year is fulfilled, then the 
house which is in a walled city standeth out and out to the 
buyer for his generations ; it shall not go out at the jubilee. 
31. But the houses of villages that have not walls around 

applied to the Supreme Being, comes from a root signifying to loose, 
release, deliver, redeem. Redeemer is the term least open to ob- 
jection ; but it is too narrow for the original, which includes the functions 
of redeeming the land, ransoming the person, avenging the death, and 
perpetuating the line of him to whom he is next of kin. The obli- 
gation of the next of kin to discharge these functions was held to be 
most solemn and inviolable. 26. No redeemer, no near kinsman, such 
as is described in vs. 48, 49, or none having the means of redemp- 
tion. He may himself, by his industry, earn the means of redemption. 
27. The purchaser is bound to accept the part of the price which is 
proportional to the remaining years till the jubilee, and return the 
land to the owner. 28. In the third place, he may have neither 
redeemer nor means of redemption ; in which case the land remains 
with the purchaser till the jubilee, and then returns to him or his heir 
without purchase. 

29-34. A house when redeemable, and when not. 29. A dwelling- 
house in a walled city, if sold, may be redeemed within a year. For 
a term of days. Any period up to a full year is simply a number of 
days. 30. Standeth out arid out, with a silencing, cutting off, or ex- 



LEVITICUS XXV. 31-36. 293 

them shall be counted as the field of the country : such may 
be redeemed, and they go out at the jubilee. 82. But the 
cities of the Levites, the houses of the cities of their posses- 
sion, may the Levites redeem at any time. 33. And whosoever 
may redeem from the Levites, the sale of the house and city 
of his possession shall go out in the jubilee ; for the houses 
of the cities are their possession among the sons of Israel. 
34. And the field of the suburb of their cities shall not be 
sold ; for it is their perpetual possession. § 

35. And if thy brother fail and his hand shake with thee, 
thou shalt hold him up, a stranger and sojourner he shall live 
with thee. 36. Thou shalt not take of him usury nor increase, 
but shalt fear thy God, and thy brother shall live with thee. 

Unction of all claim on the part of the seller. 31. The houses of 
villages, that are not walled. These are to be counted as the field. 
They may be redeemed, or they go out at the jubilee. 32. The 
houses of the cities of the Levites are redeemable at any length of 
time or in perpetuity. The reason of this is obvious. They have no 
part in the land, and these houses are their only inheritance, without 
which they would have no habitation in the land. 33. May redeem 
from the Levites. The cities and houses of the Levites were given 
by the tribes to them out of their own inheritance. To buy back any 
part of that which was so given was therefore to redeem it. But the 
sale on the part of the Levite could only be for the number of years 
till the next jubilee. 34. The field of the suburb. The town parks 
assigned to the Levites could not be permanently alienated, as they 
were necessary to those who inhabited the town. 

35-55. Concerning the serf and his emancipation. 35-38. The 
treatment due to a poor brother. If thy brother fail, fall into 
poverty. And his hand shake, if any inability to earn his bread 
befall him. Thou shalt hold him up, receive him as a stranger and 
sojourner into thy house, giving him food and clothing, and receiving 
from him whatever work he can do. 36. Neither interest nor increase 
is to be required of him. Fear thy God. The fear of God is the 



294 SABBATICAL YEAKS. 

37. Thy money thou shalt not give to him on usury ; nor give 
him thy food for increase. 38. I am the Lord your God, who 
have brought you out of the land of Mizraim, to give you the 
land of Kenaan, to be your God. § 

39. And if thy brother fail with thee and be sold unto thee, 
thou shalt not lay a hard service on him. 40. As a hireling, 
as a sojourner, he shall be witli thee ; unto the year of jubilee 
he shall serve with thee. 41. And he shall go out from thee, 
he and his sons with him ; and return to his family and to the 
possession of his fathers shall he return. 42. For they are my 
servants, whom I brought out from the land of Mizraim ; they 
shall not be sold into bondage. 43. Thou shalt not rule over 
him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. 44. And thy bond- 
motive to brotherly kindness. He that loveth his Heavenly Father 
should love his brother, who is the son of that Father. 87. The 
precept of disinterested kindness is repeated for the sake of emphasis. 

38. The reason is presented again in a still more impressive form. 
/ am the Lord your God. The God of performance, who brought 
you out of the land of bondage ; the God of mercy, who forgave and 
accepted you ; your God, who is in covenant with you, and conducts 
you to the land flowing with milk and honey. Go thou, and do with 
like good-will toward thy brother. 

39-46. Kindness to the serf. The impoverished man that sells 
himself to his brother is to be treated not as a bond-servant, but as a 
hireling or a sojourner, a laborer hired from day to day, or a sojourner 
who labors with thee for a longer period while he is free. And he is to 
go out free at the jubilee. According to Ex. xxi. 2, the Hebrew serf 
was to go free after six years of serfdom. The approach of the jubilee 
might shorten this period to any extent. 41. He mid his sons. They 
shall recover liberty and inheritance at the same time. 42. My ser- 
vants. No other man may treat them as his slaves. They shall not 
be sold into perpetual bondage. 43. The fear of God will constrain 
thee to treat his servants with gentleness and consideration. 44-46. 
Shall be of the nations. The nations have forsaken their Maker. 



LEVITICUS XXY. 44-48. 295 

man and thy bondmaid, which thou shalt have, shall be of the 
nations that are around you ; of them shall ye buy bondman 
and bondmaid. 45. And also of the sons of the sojourners that 
dwell among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families 
that are with you, which they have begotten in your land ; and 
they shall be your possession. 46. And ye shall bequeath 
them to your sons after you to hold as a possession ; ye shall 
be served by them forever ; but over your brethren, the sons 
of Israel, thou shalt not rule, one over another, with rigor. § 
47. And if the hand of a stranger and sojourner with thee 
avail, and thy brother fail with him and be sold to the stranger 
and sojourner with thee, or to the stock of a stranger's family, 
48. After he is sold he may be redeemed ; one of his brethren 

They are in a state of rebellion against him. To treat them as slaves 
is a measure of punishment for this crime of treason against heaven, 
which the God of heaven is warranted to inflict by his servants. 
Hence the children of Israel were allowed to purchase and hold slaves 
of the Gentiles, whether belonging to other lands or residing among 
them, and to bequeath them to their descendants. It is to be remem- 
bered, however, that if they were incorporated into the nation by cir- 
cumcision, they were to be treated as natives ; and also that no other 
nation, much less church, has ever received a similar commission con- 
cerning the rest of the human race. Now that the Gentiles under 
the Christian dispensation are invited to accept the life, inheritance, 
and liberty of the gospel of salvation, such a commission would be 
altogether incongruous with the spirit of the message, and can never 
be renewed. See on the law of serfdom in Israel, Ex. xxi. 1-11. 

47-55. The law regarding an Israelite who had become a serf to 
a Gentile. 47, 48. If the hand. Hence it appears that a stranger 
sojourning among the Israelites might attain to wealth, while an 
Israelite might sink into poverty. This indicates that the civil polity 
of Israel was not adverse to the prosperity of Gentiles residing among 
them. The Israelite sold to a foreigner may be redeemed at any 
time. The foreigner must be residing in the land of Israel, in order 



296 SABBATICAL YEARS. 

may redeem him. 49. Or his uncle or his uncle's son may 
redeem him, or any of the near kinsmen of his family may 
redeem him ; or if his hand avail he may redeem himself. 

50. And he shall reckon with his buyer, from the year of his 
sale to the year of jubilee ; and the price of his sale shall be 
according to the number of years ; as the days of a hireling 
shall he be with him. 51. If there be yet many years, accord- 
ing to them he shall restore his ransom out of the money of 
his purchase. 52. And if few years remain until the year 
of jubilee and he reckon with him, according to his years he 
shall return his ransom price. 53. As a yearly hireling shall 
he be with him ; he shall not rule over him with rigor in thy 
sight. 54. And if he be not redeemed by these, then he shall 
go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 
55. For unto me are the sons of Israel servants ; they are 

to be amenable to the laws of Israel. 49. A brother, uncle, cousin, 
or other near kinsman may in this case undertake the function of the 
goel. This obligation appears to extend to the next of kin, however 
remote. If his hand avail. This implies that the serf, even under a 
Gentile, might have some means of realizing money. 50. As the 
days of a hireling. The Israelite serf was to be redeemable at any 
time, so that his term of service might end like that of a hireling. 

51, 52. The ransom price will vary according to the number of years 
the state of bondage has yet to run ; and it cannot run beyond the 
jubilee. 53. The master is to be merciful to his serf. He is to deal 
with him as with a free man who is hired from day to day. In thy 
sight. This is addressed to the magistrate, who is to have his eyes open 
to the treatment of the serf, and take measures that it be dictated not 
by rigor, but by kindness. 54. Not redeemed by these friends or means. 
If he have no kinsman or none able to redeem him, and do not attain 
the means of redeeming himself, he shall go out free at the jubilee, 
and his children with him. 55. The Israelite is God's servant, and 
therefore no other can have the right of a master over him. TJiey 
are my servants. He has brought them out of bondage to the heathen. 



LEVITICUS XXV. 55. 297 

my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Mizraim ; I 
am the Lord your God. 

I am the Lord your God. This pregnant sentence needs to be again 
and again repeated, that this infant people may at length come to 
understand its import. It involves the obligations of power, love, and 
reason. You should know him ; for he has made you rational and 
intelligent. You should love him ; for he is your God, your Father, 
Deliverer, Quickener. You should obey him; for he has the right 
of creation and preservation over you. 

The jubilee rises over the sabbatical year, as the day of Pentecost 
was over the weekly sabbath. Each was the fiftieth after seven 
sabbaths. As the sabbath-day was a day of release from the payment 
of debt, because no business was to be transacted on that day, so the 
sabbath-year was a year of release from the payment of a debt 
(Deut. xv.), because a debt could not ordinarily be paid when there 
was no sowing or reaping. As the sabbath-day was an occasion of 
rejoicing in the liberty of rest from labor, so the day of Pentecost was 
an occasion of rejoicing in the liberty of abundance of the means of 
life in the harvest reaped. As the sabbath-year affords a release at 
the same time from toil and from the demand of the creditor, so the 
year of Pentecost affords the unmeasured blessings of freedom from 
bondage, and restoration to all the rights of property. But the whole 
economy of Israel was a type of higher things, of things in the church 
on earth in its wider range, and of things in the general assembly and 
church of the first-born who are written in heaven. So it is with the 
jubilee. It affords to the prophetic seer a fine figure of the advent 
of Messiah and of the effect of his mission. The Lord hath sent him 
to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive and 
the opening of the prison to the bound, to preach the acceptable year 
of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, and to restore them 
by a new birth to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that 
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the 
power of God through faith unto salvation. 

It may be said with truth that these ordinances, the primitive sim- 
plicity of which awakens in the unsophisticated heart some touch of 
romance and enthusiasm, failed to produce all the holy and happy 
38 



298 AN ADMONITION. 

results which they were calculated to effect. The sabbath-day, the 
cycle of annual festivals, the sabbath-year, and the jubilee fell into 
oblivion and neglect, and the chosen people, during a long history of 
more than twenty centuries, again and again forsook the Lord God 
of their fathers and served other gods, or served the true God with a 
show of wisdom in will-worship which came to be contrary to the 
main spirit and letter of divine revelation. Nevertheless, by these 
significant institutions, and the written revelation in which they were 
embodied and illustrated, a seed of divine truth was planted in the 
heart and memory of man which has not died out after the space of 
twenty-four centuries. Through these years of struggle and persecu- 
tion it has brought to the birth of a new and holy existence all that 
have adorned the profession of an Israelite or a Christian indeed, in 
whom is no guile. And at this day it maintains the spiritual life of 
all Christendom, fills and extends the boundaries of civilization, and 
makes its benign influence felt to the utmost limits of the human race. 
It has not therefore been sown in vain ; and it is destined eventually 
to accomplish the whole purpose for which it was sent. 

NOTES. 

5. Self-growth, fi^SO, that which grows spontaneously; avrofxaTa; 
r. add, pour out. Nazarite, *Pt3 , separate, solitary, undressed ; dyt- 
ao-jxa ; r. separate, consecrate. The original is retained, as it is by the 
English version in Num. vi., to indicate the connection. 

9. Glad sound, fwsHFi , trumpet blast ; $o>vr} ; r. ring, clang, shout. 

10. Jubilee, hli*, acclaim, joyful sound; <n;/xao-ia, signal; r. erg, 
shout for jog. 

23. Out and out,fttrnzb , to extinction; ets/5e/3atWtv; r. cut off, silence. 
25. Redeemer, btf&, releaser, upholder, avenger; ayxtoreiW. 

XXVI. AN ADMONITION. 

This chapter stands to the book of Leviticus as Ex. xxiii. 20-83 to 
the code of civil law contained in Ex. xxi.-xxiii. It holds out a 
promise of protection and prosperity in the land, as the latter passage 
gives an assurance of guidance on the way to it. It opens with a 
prohibition of idolatry (1, 2), puts on record a glowing promise of 
prosperity to those who obey the law (3-13), pronounces a solemn 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 1,2. 299 

XXVI. 1. Ye shall not make for you false gods nor rear 
up for you a graven image nor a pillar, nor set up a figured 
stone in your land, to bow down to it ; for I am the Lord your 
God. 2. My sabbaths ye shall keep and fear my sanctuary. I 
am the Lord. 33 «f[ ^ *j[ 

sentence of chastisement on the disobedient, arranged in an ascending 
scale of five successive stages (14-33), and closes with a statement 
of the end sought by the corrective judgments accumulated on the 
people, namely, that the land may enjoy its sabbaths and the people 
may be brought to repentance (34-46). This remarkable warning 
turns out to be a no less remarkable foreboding of the future history 
of the people down to the times of the New Testament. It stands 
here as a part of the communication begun in the preceding chapter, 
to which it contains many allusions. 

1, 2. The prohibition of the worship of false gods. Ye shall not 
make for you. They were made either by the imagination of the 
worshippers or by the hands of the artist. False gods, gods of a mis- 
guided imagination that have no reality, or relics of a traditionary idea 
of God which have gained many elements of falsehood and lost the 
essentials of truth. This is the breach of the first commandment. 
Nor rear up. There is to be no making nor rearing up, much less 
worshipping, of idols. Some think that they may use the image, if 
they do not worship it. That is not the doctrine or demand of Scripture. 
A graven image. This is the breach of the second commandment. 
The debased mind cannot rest satisfied without a visible figure of 
the deity, or at least a typical object of worship. The former is the 
graven image which aims at giving some analagous conception of the 
deity, and soon falls into the error of confounding the substance with 
the shadow. The latter is the pillar, which belongs to a ruder and 
severer mode of deviating into error. A figured stone. The image 
was probably of wood. The figured stone differs from the pillar in 
being carved into the form of an idol, or with figures or symbols on 
its surface. For I am the Lord your God. I, who have given you 
all this instruction concerning my essence and purpose, am the Lord 
your God. This sentence expresses the fundamental principle of all 
religion, and has often been explained. It must be stamped in letters 



300 AN ADMONITION. 

3. If ye walk in my statutes and keep my commandments 
and do them, 4. Then I will give your showers in their 
season, and the land shall yield its increase and the tree of the 
field shall yield its fruit. 5. And the threshing shall reach 
for you the vintage, and the vintage shall reach the seed-time ; 
and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell securely in 

of light on the mind of the Israelite. Hence it is repeated again and 
again. It contains the reason for avoiding all idolatry. My sabbaths, 
my sanctuary ; the time and place of worship. The weekly sabbath 
and the day of atonement were to be celebrated by a total cessation 
of business. The other six days of holy convocation released the 
laborer from his toil, while they did not require the abandonment of 
lighter occupations. The sabbatical and jubilee years are equally in 
favor of the men of toil. And hence the sabbath of the land was truly 
to it a sabbath of rest. The holy place was the tabernacle and its pre- 
cincts. But the place of convocation in all their villages and the 
home of every family had each its own peculiar sanctity which was to 
be truly revered. The sabbaths and the sanctuary mean here, all the 
sacred lessons, exercises, and habits which are connected with the 
time and the place. 

3-13. The promise to those who keep the law. 3. The condition 
stated. The people have been accepted. They are now to be 
regarded as a holy nation, circumcised in heart, and therefore fitted 
by divine grace to walk in the statutes of God. To such the condition 
is proper. 4. Your showers. Rain is the source of vegetable growth. 
It is therefore the antecedent of corn and wine. In their season. 
The autumnal rains begin usually in the end of October or beginning 
of November when the seed was sown. They continue at intervals 
during November and December. The spring rains cease in the 
month of March. These are called the early and the latter rains 
which water the newly-sown fields and the full-grown grain. Rain 
ceases during the harvest in May and all the summer. By these 
showers in their season the land yields its increase and the tree its 
fruit. 5. The threshing beginning in May or June will reach to the 
vintage beginning in July, and that to the seed-time in October and 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 5-13. 301 

your land. 6. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall 
lie down and none make you afraid ; and I will rid the evil 
beast out of the land, and the sword shall not pass through 
your land. 7. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they 
shall fall before you by the sword. 8. And five of you shall 
chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thou- 
sand ; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 
9. And I will regard you and make you fruitful, and multiply 
you, and establish my covenant with you. 10. And ye shall 
eat old store, and bring out the old because of the new. 
11. And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul 
shall not abhor you. 12. And I will walk among you, and I 
will be your God, and ye shall be my people. 13. I am the 
Lokd your God who have brought you out of the land of Miz- 

November. Plenty and security are the promised blessings of this 
verse. 6. And I will give peace. The wonted state of your land will 
be peace in the pregnant sense of the absence of the violent man, the 
evil beast, and the sword. 7, 8. And Jive of you shall chase a hundred. 
Victory will crown your army when an enemy appears. 9. I will regard 
you, have my eye upon you for good. Here are four blessings in this 
verse : favor, fruitfulness, multiplication, and stability of covenant from 
God. 10. Superabundance. The old store will yet be unexhausted 
when the new fruits come in. 11. I will set my tabernacle. He will 
dwell among them, holding daily intercourse with them. My soul 
shall not abhor you ; a very singular phrase, intimating that there is 
moral deformity in them on account of which they might be justly 
abhorred, but at the same time implying that propitiation has been 
made and purification begun. 12. I will walk among you, have per- 
sonal and practical intercourse with you. The covenant relation is 
expressed in the affecting words, " I will be your God, and ye shall 
be my people " ; your God, forgiving and accepting you ; my people, 
penitent and confiding towards me. 13. The promise now closes with 
the standing watchword, "I am the Lord your God," and the historical 
appeal to what he had already done for them, which was a pledge of 



802 AN ADMONITION. 

raim from being their bondmen ; and I brake the bars of your 
yoke, and made you walk upright. 

14. And if ye hearken not unto me nor do all these my 
commandments, 15. And if ye despise my statutes, and if 
your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye do not all my 
commandments, but break my covenant, 16. I also will do 
this unto you, and I will appoint over you terror, decay, and 
fever, consuming the eyes and wasting the soul ; and ye shall 

the performance of all that was now promised. Brake the bars of your 
yoke, and made you walk upright. A strong and impressive figure to 
exhibit to them the new-born liberty into which they were now intro- 
duced. It is taken from the bar of wood which was bent round the 
necks of oxen and fastened to the pole or yoke. The breaking of 
this yoke off the necks of the Israelites enabled them to walk uprightly. 
There is a regular gradation in these ten verses of promise. First are 
placed the material blessings in seven verses and then the spiritual in 
three. Hain, peace, and the favor of Providence, with their natural 
consequences make up the temporal blessings. To dwell with them, 
walk with them, and be their covenant God are the spiritual 
blessings. 

14-33. The threat against disobedience. 14-17. The first correc- 
tion for disobedience. 14, 15. The case of disobedience put in four 
successive stages : if ye hearken not, do not my commandments, 
despise my statutes, and your soul abhor my judgments. Here is 
evidently a climax in sinful habit going on from simple inattention to 
the abhorrence of the inmost soul. Again, the object is first " me," 
then my commandments, the moral law especially, next my statutes, 
the positive enactments of the theocracy, and, lastly, my judgments, the 
decisions which affirm principles and afford precedents for future 
guidance. The result of this state of the moral habit is disobedience 
and consequent breach of covenant. 16. The following two verses 
contain the corrective judgments which will in this case be sent upon 
them. Terror, a mental affliction, the sure consequence of an evil 
conscience. Decay and fever, contrasted kinds of bodily disease. 
Consuming the eyes. The dull eye is the invariable mark of wasted 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 16-21. 303 

sow your seed in vain and your enemies shall eat it. 17. And 
I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before 
your enemies ; and they that hate you shall rule over you, 
and ye shall flee when none chaseth you. 

18. And if on this ye hearken not unto me, then I will yet 
chastise you seven times for your sins. 19. And I will break 
the pride of your strength ; and I will make your sky as iron 
and your land as brass. 20. And your strength shall be spent 
in vain, and your land shall not yield its increase, nor the tree 
of the land yield its fruit. 

21. And if ye walk against me and do not wish to hearken 
unto me, then I will add seven strokes unto you for your sins. 

powers. And wasting the soul, wearing out the animal life, which is 
the effect of fever. Sow your seed in vain. The seed sown either 
does not ripen or is devoured by the enemy. 17. I ivill set my face 
against you. Then all things work together against them. They 
shall be smitten by the enemy, ruled over by their foes, and shall 
even flee when no man pursueth. 

18-20. The second correction, if disobedience be continued. ] 8. And 
if on this, notwithstanding all these chastisements. Seven times, a 
complete number of judgments, leaving no excuse from insufficient 
warning or rebuke. 19. Break the pride. It is pride of strength 
that tempts to self-confidence and self-will. It is the great antagonist 
of God, and must fall. Tour sky as iron, and therefore no showers in 
their season. Tour land as brass, and therefore no growth of seed 
sown, nor budding of the vine. 20. Tour strength shall be spent in 
vain. The simple withholding of one blessing, rain, will make all 
your strength be spent in vain. The land will yield no increase, the 
tree no fruit. 

21, 22. The third correction, if they still persist in backsliding. 
21. If ye walk against me. Hitherto it has been, " if ye hearken not 
unto me " ; now it is, " if ye walk against me," implying no longer 
inattention, but active opposition to God. Then I will add. The 
judgments are cumulative. Seven strokes. Another complete series 



304 AN ADMONITION. 

22. And I will send upon you the wild beast and it shall 
bereave you, and cut off your cattle and make you few, and 
your highways shall be desolate. 

23. And if on this ye be not chastened for me, and walk 
against me, 24. Then I also will walk against you, and I also 
will smite you seven times for your sins. 25. And I will 
bring upon you a sword that will avenge the covenant : and 
ye shall be gathered in your cities, and I will send a pestilence 
among you, and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the 
enemy. 26. When I break the staff of your bread ten women 
shall bake your bread in one oven and return your bread by 
weight ; and ye shall eat and not be satisfied. § 

of chastisements will be inflicted. 22. The wild beast This indicates 
the wasting of their strength and the decrease of population. Bereave 
you, rob you of your children, cut off your cattle, diminish your num- 
bers, and cause your roads to be unfrequented. 

23-26. The fourth correction, on persisting in apostasy. 23. And 
if on this ye be not chastened. If the accumulated troubles of the past 
have not the effect of humbling you and awakening repentance, as 
they might have done, other measures still are to be tried. 24. I also 
will walk against you. Punishment is retributive. Smite you seven 
times. This is a sevenfold stroke of retribution, in which their oppo- 
sition only encounters a mightier opposition. They run only on the 
thick bosses of his buckler. 25. A sword that will avenge the covenant. 
This is the sword of a mighty conqueror whom the Lord will now 
raise up against them. This is the walking against them of which he 
speaks. It will avenge a broken, down-trodden covenant, the cove- 
nant of the God of mercy, which they have dishonored. The usual 
calamities of war are now depicted. They will be beseiged in their 
cities, visited with the pestilence, and delivered into captivity. 26. / 
will break the staff of bread. In addition to the sword, famine will 
desolate the land. Ten women will prepare the bread for a, whole 
city. In one oven, which will be sufficient for the scanty supply. 
By weight, on account of the scarcity of the means of life. " Ye shall 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 27-30. 305 

27. And if on this ye hearken not unto me, and walk against 
me, 28. Then I will walk against you in fury, and I, even I, 
will chasten you seven times for your sins. 29. And ye shall 
eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters shall 
ye eat. 30. And I will destroy your high places and cut 
down your sun-stocks, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses 
of your blocks, and my soul shall abhor you. 31. And I will 

e*t and not be satisfied." Here is an accumulation of miseries on the 
head of the obstinately disobedient people. 

27-33. The fifth and final correction. Its consequences are depicted 
in the remainder of the chapter. 27, 28. I will walk against you in 
fury. If, in this weakened, wasted, vanquished condition, they still walk 
against God, they will be visited by a still more severe retribution, a 
walking in fury, and a sevenfold chastisement for their sins. 29. The 
dire necessities and extremities of famine are here described. Such 
revolting acts are recorded in the seige of Samaria by the Syrians 
(2 Kings vi. 28, 29), in the seige of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans 
(Lam. ii. 20 ; iv. 10), and in the seige of the same city by Titus (Joseph. 
Bell. Jud. v. 10, *3). The seer has his eye upon the dark scenes of 
the future. 30. The cause of all their disaster is unveiled in the next 
stroke. 1 will destroy your high places. The false gods in whom 
they put their trust will be destroyed. The high places were the 
altars and other religious erections on hills, at which either the true 
God was unlawfully worshipped, or idolatry was openly practised. 
Sun stocks s0 were cones, pyramids, or other figures representing the 
sun as worshipped under the title Baal-chammon, or lord of heat. The 
Phenicians and Persians were votaries of a deity of fire under different 
forms. Blocks, 20 or logs or stones. These were pieces of wood or 
stone resembling or representing some object of idolatrous worship. 
The worshipper and the worshipped are here involved in the same 
ruin. It is very significant to find this word so familiar in the time of 
Ezekiel. And my soul shall abhor you. This is the contrast to the 
promise in vs. 11. The absolute Fountain of reason must abhor 
all such unreason in opinion or intention as is involved in the worship 
of stocks or stones, as well as in the practice of any form of presump- 
39 



306 AN ADMONITION. 

make your cities waste and desolate your sanctuaries, and I 
will not smell your sweet odors. 32. And I will desolate the 
land ; and your enemies that dwell in it shall be amazed at it. 
33. And I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a 
sword after you ; and your land shall be desolate and your 
cities waste. 

tuous sin. 31. The scene of dreary desolation rises more and more 
plainly before the eye. I will make your cities waste. The siege »is 
at an end, the inhabitants are gone. And desolate your sanctuaries* 
Apart from its importance in the scene of ruin, this plural term has an 
interest of its own. It contemplates a plurality of sanctuaries to meet 
the requirements of the nation when settled in the country assigned to 
it, and covering an extent of territory and having an amount of popu- 
lation which would render it inconvenient or impossible for all to fulfil 
their religious obligations at the one central sanctuary. Only the 
national representative worship could be duly performed at one centre 
even for so small a country as Palestine. The private duties of reli- 
gion needed local sanctuaries at least as numerous as the tribes ; and 
in the event of the extension of the commonwealth of Israel by inter- 
nal growth and by the accession of proselytes from the nations, new 
local sanctuaries would have to be continually added. It is evident 
from this passage that it was not designed to confine the offering of 
sacrifices on the part of individuals and families to one sole, central 
place. I will not smile. This is an intimation that he will no longer 
be propitious. The time of acceptance is past. They have trodden 
under foot the blood of the everlasting covenant. There remaineth 
no more sacrifice for sin. 32. I will desolate the land. As the Amo- 
rites before them, so now the chosen people are swept away from the 
land. The conquerors who possess and dwell in it are amazed at its 
desolation. 33. This verse gives the last stroke to the picture. I will 
scatter you among the nations. While their land lies waste and their 
cities in ruins, they themselves are dispersed among the nations and 
the sword unsheathed against them. More than once has this descrip- 
tion been realized in the history of this people. They were carried 
away into captivity in part by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings xv. 29), by 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 33-36. 307 

34. Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths allthe days of its 
desolation, while ye are in the land of your enemies ; then 
shall the land rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 85. All the days 
of its desolation it shall rest, because it did not rest in your 
sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36. And upon them that 
are left among you I will send a faintness into their hearts in 
the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a falling leaf 

Shalmaneser (2 Kings xviii. 29), and by Nebuchadnezzar on three 
several occasions. Returning after seventy years of captivity they 
remained in their own country with various fortune until the siege of 
Jerusalem by Titus, which terminated in the razing of the walls and 
the burning of the temple. For eighteen centuries from that event 
they have been without a country, and are at this day scattered among 
the nations. The prophetic picture, melancholy though it is, has been 
fully borne out by the reality. 

34-46. The ends contemplated in these multiplied chastisements. 
These are chiefly two. The land is to enjoy its sabbaths and the people 
are to be brought to repentance. The present aim, to admonish the 
infant people for their real and perpetual welfare, precludes anything 
more than the most distant allusion to the more comprehensive pur- 
pose for which the peculiar people were called into existence, namely, 
that all the families of the earth might be blessed in the seed of 
Abraham. 34. The land enjoy its sabbaths. What a touching appeal 
there is in this to the infant people in their first love ! It pictures to 
them a people become so besotted with worldliness and idolatry as to 
neglect the sabbatical and jubilee years, if not the weekly sabbaths. 
The long years of desolation, during the exile of the people, are to 
compensate for this neglect. The statement is repeated to enhance 
its affecting impression. 35. The prophetic event is a third time 
repeated, with the reason for it expressly annexed. 36. From the 
land he passes to the people, who should be far away from it. A faint- 
ness,^ (Deut. xxviii. 65). This is an exact description of the mental 
state of the Jews in the captivity, and in their dispersion after the 
Christian era. The sound of a falling leaf the feeblest rustle that 
strikes the ear, breeds alarm and prompts to flight. The startled fancy 



308 AN ADMONITION. 

shall chase them ; and they shall take flight as from the sword, 
and they shall fall when none chaseth. 37. And they shall 
stumble one upon another as before a sword when no one 
chaseth, and there will be to you no standing before your 
enemies. 38. And ye shall perish among the nations, and the 
land of your enemies will eat you up. 39. And they that 
remain of you shall pine away in their iniquity in the lands of 
your enemies ; and also in the iniquities of their fathers, with 
them shall they pine away. 40. And they shall confess their 
iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their transgression 
which they have committed against me, and also that they 
have walked against me. 41. When I also walk against them, 
and have brought them into the land of their enemies, if then 
their uncircumcised heart be bowed down, and then they enjoy 

conjures up a sword, and they fall down as slain when no man pursues. 
37. They stumble one upon another; they are far from standing 
before the enemy. 38. They shall perish in great numbers, because 
of the oppression and persecution which the nations among whom they 
dwell in the height of their panic or the intensity of their hate 
will practise upon them. The land of your enemies, as a ravenous 
beast, will eat you up. 39. Shall pine away in their iniquity. Their 
iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, their iniquity as individuals 
and as a nation ; will be the source of their decline. 40. The main 
end of all their chastisements is now brought out. They shall confess. 
A case is here put : if they confess. The whole of the heart-rending 
description already given is, indeed, put before the people as one long 
supposition or possibility, for the purpose of making an indelible im- 
pression upon their hearts. And the iniquity of their fathers. They 
are a whole of manifold growth and continuity. Their iniquity has 
been of long standing and wide consequence. They are reaping the 
fruits of a heritage of crime. In their transgression is the fruit not 
only of their own evil heart, but of the inherited disaffection of tlTeir 
fathers. 41. When I also walk against, meet their aggravated sin 
with sevenfold retribution in five successive stages. This remarkable 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 41,42. 309 

their iniquity, 42. Then will I remember my covenant with 
Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my cove- 
nant with Abraham will I remember ; and the land I will 

warning is not constructed upon the principle of an exact and literal 
adaptation of the outline to the reality. Yet the history of Israel 
admits of a fivefold division. The times of the judges down to Eli, 
the intervals from Samuel to Rehoboam, from Jeroboam to the cap- 
tivity of the ten tribes, from Hezekiah to the seventy years of captivity, 
from the return to the destruction of the temple, and the disper- 
sion that continues to the present day, are sufficiently marked. To 
note one mark of these periods, " terror " grew to the time of Eli, 
" the pride of their strength " was broken in the time of Rehoboam, 
" the wild beast " figures again in the desolation of the land on the 
exile of the ten tribes (2 King xvii. 25), the "sword" becomes very 
prominent in the time of Josiah and his three sons, and the eating of 
human flesh in the famine of a siege, the desolated sanctuary, the 
literal ceasing to smell the sweet odors, and the scattering among the 
heathen, stand out very conspicuous in the conquest of Titus and its 
consequences. An elaborate essay on this whole passage would tend 
very much to illustrate the structure of prophetic composition and the 
mode of its interpretation. If then their uncircumcised heart be 
bowed down. This refers to the " pride of power " which is .the lead- 
ing characteristic of a fallen spirit. And then they enjoy their iniquity. 
To enjoy is here to feel that they are reaping the bitter fruit of their 
evil doings. This is a very bold, but still perfectly intelligible, figure. 
42. Then will I remember my covenant. The threefold establishment 
of the covenant is here made prominent, and is significant of its perpe- 
tuity. It is very remarkable that in the fivefold hypothesis of rebellion 
against God there is not a hint of the final rejection of his people. 
In the covenant are found the momentous words, "In thee, in thy 
seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Gen. xii. 3 ; xviii. 
18; xxii. 18; xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14). The covenant was an immutable 
purpose of God, which is to this day in the process of being fulfilled. 
And the land. The land is to have its sabbaths. A remnant of the 
captives were brought back to it after the seventy years of exile 



310 AN ADMONITION. 

remember. 43. And the land shall be left of them and enjoy 
its sabbaths, when it is desolate without them, and they enjoy 
their iniquity, because, even because they despised my judg- 
ments and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44. And yet for 
all this, when they be in the land of their enemies I will not 
despise them nor abhor them to consume them, to break my 
covenant with them ; for I am the Lord their God. 45. And 
I will remember for them the covenant of the former men, 
whom I brought out of the land of Mizraim in the sight of 

(Jer. xxv. 11 ; xxix. 10 ; Dan. ix. 2 ; Ezra i. 1). As there are seven 
sabbath-years and one jubilee in every fifty years, seventy years of 
rest give a period of five hundred or four hundred and thirty years 
during which these years of rest were neglected. The interval from 
the crossing of the Jordan, about 1451, to the captivity of Judah was 
about eight hundred and forty-five years. Hence it appears that these 
sabbaths were neglected more than half the time from the conquest to 
the captivity. After the exile of seventy years the land of Judah, 
which had not been colonized like that of the ten tribes, was reoccupied 
by the returning remnant of the people. 43. The desolation is once 
more sadly attributed to the iniquity of which they were reaping the 
fruit. 44. And yet for all this. This is the counterpart of the oft- 
repeated*" on this." In the land of their enemies they shall not be 
forgotten. The time of the judges and the period of the captivity 
afford the historical confirmation of this promise. To consume them 
utterly would be to break the covenant of the Lord, which cannot be 
done, because it is the immutable counsel of God, and involves in it the 
eternal purpose of salvation for man. For. The reasons now assigned 
are embraced in that word and seal of the covenant, " I am the Lord 
their God." At the end of this harassing prognostication it recurs once 
more. 45. And I will remember. God's memory never fails. The 
covenant of the former men. The covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob was fulfilled to their descendants who were brought out of 
Egypt, and solemnly renewed with them at Mount Sinai. This great 
event was transacted in the sight of all surrounding nations. To be 
their God. This is the import of the covenant. lam the Lord. This 



LEVITICUS XXVI. 46. 311 

the nations to be their God : I am the Lord. 46. These are 
the statutes and the judgments and the laws which the Lord 
made between himself and the sons of Israel in Mount Sinai 
by the hand of Moses. ^f 

is its warrant. 46. These are the statutes. We have here the express 
testimony of Moses that this communication was made to him on 
Mount Sinai, and therefore antecedent to the erection of the tabernacle. 
This section is of so much importance as to warrant the appending of 
a closing formula. But the comprehensiveness of the terms " statutes 
and judgments and laws " appears to cover a considerable portion of 
Exodus as well Leviticus. The first seven chapters and the present 
section of Leviticus come expressly under the head of the legislation 
commencing with chap. xx. of Exodus, and communicated from Mount 
Sinai. And there is nothing to hinder the sections from chap. xvii. to 
the end of Leviticus being assigned to the same period. Moses having 
received these communications interposes the history of the making 
and erection of the tabernacle and of the consecration of the priests 
among these divine communications in the manner best fitted for their 
illustration. We shall find him pursuing the same course in the Book 
of Numbers. Chapters xi.-xvi. of Leviticus appear to have been 
communicated after the erection of the tabernacle. 

NOTES. 

1. Figured stone, n*>3toE "jsk , stone of image, XtBov o-Ko-n-ov. 

13. Bars, Tfob , tov Secr/xov ; r. move, shake, 

30. Sun-stocks, tpy&n , the fire idols, ra $v\iva )(€ip&KoirjTa ; r. be hot. 
Blocks, d^&S, trunks, logs, etSaAa ; r. roll. This is a frequent word 
in Ezekiel, who uses it thirty-eight times. It occurs also twice in 
the Pentateuch, and seven times elsewhere. 

XXVII. vows. 

The vow is the promise to dedicate something to the Lord. It is 
therefore an act of free-will. But when once the vow has been made 
it is, in ordinary circumstances, binding (Num. xxx). Hence the vow 
is treated after matters of intrinsic obligation have been settled. 



312 vows. 

XXVII. 1. And the Lord 'spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak 
unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When a man setteth 
apart a vow, at thy valuation shall the souls be to the Lord. 
3. And thy valuation shall be of the male from twenty years 
old to sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be fifty shekels 
of silver, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 4. And if it be a 
female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5. And if 
it be from five years old to twenty years old, then thy valua- 

Reference has already been made incidentally to the vow in Lev. vii. 
16 and xxii. 18. In this supplementary chapter the valuation of 
everything that may be made the object of a vow is determined : of 
persons (2-8) ; of cattle (9-13) ; of houses (14, 15) ; of land (16-25). 
All these may be Redeemed except clean animals that are fit for sacri- 
fice. The firstling cannot be vowed, because it is the Lord's (26, 27). 
That which is devoted cannot be sold or redeemed, but must be put to 
death (28, 29). The tithe is regulated in 30-38. The closing 
formula is in 34. This communication is made to Moses in Mount 
Sinai for the sons of Israel. 

1-8. Valuation of persons. 2. When a man setteth apart 2 a vow, 
or, as some render it, maketh a special vow. The verb no doubt 
means to distinguish as wonderful; but this is a distinction of all 
vowing. At thy valuation. At the valuation of Moses as the law- 
giver. This only is consistent with the context which fixes the value. 
The communication is also addressed primarily to Moses. Shall the 
souls be to the Lord. In vows regarding persons the sum at which 
the person was valued was to be given to the Lord. The Levites, in- 
cluding the priests, were already consecrated to the service of God. 
It was not therefore necessary or desirable that persons vowed should 
be actually taken into his service as attendants at the tabernacle. 
Hence the arrangement of a rate which was to be payable for such 
persons. 3, 4. From twenty years old to sixty. This was the period 
of active service. Fifty shekels of silver. The slave was valued at 
thirty shekels (Ex. xxi. 32). By the shekel of the sanctuary. See on 
Ex. xxx. 10 ; Lev. v. 15. The female was valued at thirty shekels. 
5, 6. From five years old to twenty. This was the period of youth or 



leviticus xxvn. 5-19. 313 

tion shall be for the male twenty shekels and for the female 
ten shekels. 6. And if it be from a month old unto five years 
old, then shall thy valuation be of the male five shekels of sil- 
ver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of 
silver. 7. And if it be from sixty years old and upwards, if a 
male, then shall thy valuation be fifteen shekels and for the 
female ten shekels. 8. And if he fail of thy valuation, then 
he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall 
value him ; according to that which the hand of the vower 
reacheth shall the priest value him. § 

9. And if it be a beast of which they make an offering unto 
the Lord, all that he giveth of such unto the Lord shall be 
holy. 10. He shall not alter it nor change it, good for bad, or 
bad for good ; and if he do change beast for beast, both it and 

minority. Twenty shekels are here allowed for the male and ten for 
the female. From a month old to jive years. This is the period of 
infancy. The valuation is five shekels for the male and three for the 
female. This accords with the redemption price for a firstborn 
son (Num. xviii. 16). 7. From sixty years old and upwards. This 
is the time of old age. The valuation is fifteen shekels for the male 
and ten for the female. Females being of weaker frame are valued at 
a lower rate. The valuation is otherwise founded on age, or the 
capacity for service determined by age. 8. And if he fail of thy 
valuation, if he be so poor as to be unable to pay the fixed assess- 
ment, the priest is vested with authority to abate it according to his 
means. 

9-13. Valuation of cattle. 9. A beast of which they make an offer- 
ing unto the Lord, that is, of the herd or of the flock, is holy, and 
must be given to the Lord without exchange or redemption. 10. He shall 
not alter it nor exchange it. The former word may refer to the put- 
ting of one kind of beast in place of another, the latter to the substi- 
tution of a beast of the same kind. Good for bad, or bad for good. 
The animal vowed is holy, and is not to be exchanged in any way from 
any motive. If the exchange be made, both the animal vowed and its 
15 



314 vows. 

its exchange shall be holy. 11. And if it be any unclean beast 
of which they do not make an offering unto the Lord, then he 
shall present the beast before the priest. 12. And the priest 
shall value it between good and bad ; at the valuation of the 
priest it shall be. 13. And if he do redeem it, he shall add a 
fifth of it to thy valuation. 

14. And if a man consecrate his house to be holy unto the 
Lord, then the priest shall value it between good and bad ; as 
the priest valueth, so shall it stand. 15. And if the consecrator 
redeem his house, he shall add a fifth of the money of thy 
valuation unto it, and it shall be his. 

16. And if of the field of his possession a man consecrate 
any part unto the Lord, then thy valuation shall be according 
to its seed ; the seed of a homer of barley being valued at 

exchange will be holy. This precludes any selfish motive. 11, 12. 
And if it be an unclean beast, that is, not allowed for sacrifice, and so 
not of the flock or the herd. This is to be presented before the priest, 
who shall value it "between good and bad," that is, at an average 
rate, and his valuation is to stand. 13. If the vower redeem it, he 
must add a fifth to this valuation. This also precludes any unworthy 
motive. 

14, 15. Valuation of a house. Here again the priest shall fix the 
value. If the consecrator choose to redeem it, he shall add a fifth 
part to the valuation. 

16-25. Valuation of land. 16-21. First, part of the field of his 
patrimony, which in ordinary circumstances he cannot alienate beyond 
the year of jubilee. 16. This the priest shall value according to its 
seed. A homer of barley. The homer, equal to ten ephahs or one 
hundred omers, contains about five and a half bushels of grain. At 
four or five bushels to the acre, this would sow more than an acre, 
and at a lower rate it would sow two acres. Fifty shekels at 2s. 
3c?. a shekel would amount to £6 4s. Qd. Fifty shekels for fifty 
years, or a shekel a year, is the value fixed for a portion of ground 
containing between one and a half and two statute acres. This 



LEVITICUS XXVH. 17-23. 315 

fifty shekels of silver. 17. If he consecrate his field from the 
year of jubilee at thy valuation it shall stand. 18. And if he 
consecrate his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall 
reckon unto him the money according to the years unto the 
year of jubilee, and abatement shall be made from thy valua- 
tion. 19. And if he that consecrates it do redeem the field, 
then he shall add a fifth of the money of thy valuation, and it 
shall stand as his. 20. And if he redeem not the field or have 
sold it to another man, it shall no more be redeemed. 21. And 
the field when it goeth out in the jubilee shall be holy unto 
the Lord ; as a field devoted, the priest shall have possession 
of it. 

22. And if he consecrate unto the Lord a field of his pur- 
chase, which is no part of the field of his possession, 23. Then 
the priest shall reckon to him the worth of thy valuation unto 
the year of jubilee ; and he shall give thy valuation on that 

was of course a moderate valuation. 17, 18. From the year of jubilee. 
The price being fixed for the period from jubilee to jubilee, that for 
the period from the time of vowing to the next jubilee is to be 
ascertained by simple proportion, "according to the years unto the 
year of jubilee." Abatement shall be made of the fixed valuation 
according to the number of years to the next jubilee. 19. If he 
redeem the field he shall add a fifth as usual, and it shall be his. 
20. But if he do not redeem it, or if he sell it to another, and therefore 
of course do not redeem it, it shall never be redeemed. 21. At the 
jubilee when it goes out it shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field 
devoted. It becomes the possession of the priest. 

22-25. Secondly, a purchased field. This is no part of his inheri- 
tance, and he has only the use of it till the jubilee. 23. The amount 
of the valuation is to be given on that day on which the vow is made. 
Plainly in this case the obligation could not be discharged by an 
annual payment, because the field might pass out of his hands at any 
time. No fifth part is here mentioned, because the use only of the 



316 vows. 

day as a holy thing unto the Lord. 24. In the year of jubilee 
the field shall return to him of whom he bought it, to whom 
the possession of the field belongeth. 25. And all thy valua- 
tions shall be by the shekel of the sanctuary ; twenty gerahs 
shall be the shekel. 

26. Only the firstling of a beast which belongeth to the 
Lord, no man shall consecrate it; whether ox or sheep, it is 
the Lord's. 27. And if the beast be unclean, then he shall 
release it at thy valuation and add a fifth to it ; and if not 
redeemed it shall be sold at thy valuation. 

28. Only no devoted thing that a man devoteth unto the 
Lord of all that he hath, of man or of beast or of the field of 
his possession shall be . sold or redeemed : every devoted thing 

land till the jubilee was possessed by the vower. 24. The field in 
this case, according to xxv. 28, returns to him from whom it was 
bought. 25. The value of the shekel of the sanctuary is here defined. 
See on vs. 3. 

26, 27. The firstling cannot be vowed. It belongs to the Lord 
already, and therefore cannot be vowed to him by one who does not 
possess it. It may be released, if unclean, by paying the valuation 
with a fifth added. If not, it is to be sold at the valuation. 

28, 29. A thing devoted 28 is not to be redeemed or sold. The 
cherem is mentioned for the first time in this chapter. It means a 
person accursed or cut off from the communion of God or his people, 
or from the number of the living, or a thing accursed and so cut 
off from all common use and given over to destruction. This ban 
could only come from God or his accredited representative and agent ; 
and could only fall on a person or the property of a person guilty of 
incorrigible rebellion against God, as an idol (Deut. vii. 26), a city 
of idolaters (Deut. xiii. 18 ; Josh. vi. 17), an ungodly people (1 Sam. 
xv. 3, 21), sinners and transgressors in Israel (Isa. xliii. 28), a 
heathen rebel against God and his people (1 Kings xx. 42 ; Isa. 
xxxiv. 5). That which was thus solemnly devoted to destruction 
was not to be sold or redeemed. If a living creature, it was to be 



LEVITICUS XXVII. 28-33. 317 

is most holy unto the Lord. 29. No devoted thing, which is 
devoted out of man, shall be redeemed ; it shall be put to 
death. 

30. And all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or 
of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's : it is holy unto the Lord. 
31. And if a man do redeem his tithe, he shall add a fifth of it 
to it. 32. And all the tithe of the herd and of the flock, of all 
that passeth under the rod the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. 
33. He shall not search between good and bad nor change it ; 
and if he do change it, it and its exchange shall be holy ; it 



put to death as a thing doomed. If inanimate, it was irrevocably 
surrendered to the Lord to be disposed of at his will. A ban is 
therefore to be carefully distinguished from a vow. The subject of 
the vow was consecrated to the Lord at the will of the vower as an 
acceptable offering, and if a sacrifice, was either a peace-offering or 
a burnt-sacrifice of the herd or of the flock. The subject of the ban 
was devoted to destruction only at the behest of God as an accursed 
thing, by no means to be offered as a sacrifice, but to be put to death 
as under the sentence of the ban. Which is devoted out of man, which 
belongs to the race of man, and is devoted on account of incorrigible 
iniquity. Such devoted men are to be put to death as malefactors in 
the most awful sense, that is, as impenitent rebels against God. 
There is not the slightest hint of either parents or masters being at 
liberty to ban either their children or serfs, in this or in any other 
passage of scripture referring to the ban. The case of Jephthah is not 
that of a ban, but a vow, and refers to offering, and not to extermination. 
The daughter of Jephthah had done nothing to bring her under the 
ban, and human sacrifices were forbidden under the Mosaic code. 

30-34. The tithe. The tithe of the fruits of the ground belongs to 
the Lord. 30. If redeemed, commuted for a money payment, a fifth 
was to be added to it. 32. The tithe of cattle belongs also to the 
Lord. 33. He shall not search between good and bad. The tenth 
animal that passes under the rod is marked with ruddle as the tithe, 
and is not to be changed ; or if changed, both it and its exchange 



318 vows. 

shall not be redeemed. 34. These are the commandments 
which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel in 
Mount Sinai. 

belong to the Lord. The tithe of animals is not be redeemed. 
34. From the last verse it appears that this communication also was 
made from Mount Sinai before the erection of the tabernacle. It is 
obvious therefore that the arrangement of these documents is not 
wholly chronological, but in the first place logical. The first sixteen 
chapters describe the consecration of the people to the Lord by the 
ritual of propitiation, by the consecration of the priests, by the ritual 
of purification, and by the day of atonement, in which all these are 
combined and consummated. The next eleven chapters portray the 
preparation of the people for entering into the promised land. They 
treat of the social life of the people of God, as a state, as a church, 
and as a state and church coinciding one with the other. There is 
therefore a perfectly logical arrangement running through the whole. 
This whole book exhibits the people and their ordinances, civil and 
religious, as a type of all subsequent stages of the church as constituted 
on earth. It is the lock of which the Epistle to the Hebrews is the 
easy key. It is the document which affords a vocabulary for the 
philosophy of redemption. 

NOTES. 

2. Setteth apart, »^B5, c££grae. The verb means to do something 
extraordinary. A vow is of this nature. 

28. A thing devoted, dW, avdOtfia. The root signifies to cut off, 
and hence in this case to destroy. The word " harem " comes from 
this root. 



COMMENTARIES 

PUBLISHED BY 

WARREN F. DRAPER, 

ANDOVER, MASS. 



These Books will be sent, post-paid , on receipt of the price affixed. 



MURPHY. 

Critical and Exegetical Commentaries, by Prof, James G, 

Murphy, LL.D., T.C.D., viz. on 
GENESIS. With a Preface by J. P. Thompson, D.D., New York. 8vo. 
pp. 535. Cloth, rounded edges. $3.50 

EXODUS. (Uniform with Genesis.) 8vo. pp. 385. 3.00 

" Dr. Murphy in his commentaries has a definite plan, which he carries out. The text is 
explained, translated anew, and comments are added on the difficult and mooted points. He 
is a fair, clear, and candid interpreter. His aim is to reconcile the Scriptures with science 
by an impartial examination of the text." — Amer. Presbyterian and Tlieological Review. 

"Thus far nothing has appeared in this country for half a century on the first two books 
of the Pentateuch so valuable as the present two volumes. His style is lucid, animated, and 

often eloquent. His pages afford golden suggestions and key-thoughts Some of the 

laws of interpretation are stated with so fresh and natural a clearness and force that they 
will permanently stand." — Methodist Quarterly. 

" The most valuable contribution that luas for a long time been made to the many aids 
for the critical study of the Old Testament is Mr. Draper's republication of Dr. Murphy 
on Genesis, in one octavo volume. It is a good deal to say of a commentary, but we say it in 
all sincerity, that this volume furnishes about as fascinating work for one's hours for read- 
ing as any volume of the day, iu any department of literature; while its general influence 
will be salutary and effective for the truth The English reader will find nothing ac- 
cessible to him which will compare favorably with this as a help in the study of this por- 
tion of the divine word; while lie will, of course, read always with his own judgment 
upon the views which find expression." — Congregalionalist. 

STUART. 

Critical and Exegetical Commentaries, by Moses Stuart, late 
Professor in Andover Tlieological Seminary, viz. on 

ROMANS. Third Edition. Edited and revised by Prof. R. D. C. Robbins. 

12mo. pp. 544. $2.25 

HEBREWS. Third Edition. Edited and revised by Prof. R. D. C. Robbins. 

12mo. pp. 575. $2.25 

THE APOCALYPSE. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 504, 504. 

ECCLESIASTES. Second Edition. Edited and revised by Prof. R. D. C. 

Robbins. 12mo. pp. 346. $1,50 

BOOK OF PROVERBS. 12mo. pp.432. 1.75 

"The first characteristic of Professor Stuart as a commentator is the exhaustive thor- 
oughness of his labors. His exegesis is in general skilful and felicitous, especially in bring- 
ing out the meaning of the obscure passages, and adding new and delicate shades of thought 
to the more obvious and superficial sense." — North American Review. 

" The exegetical works of Prof. Stuart have many excellences, and it will be a long time 
before the student of the Bible in the original will be willing to dispense with them as a 
part of his critical apparatus." — Boston Recorder. 

" The spirit of the man is so intertwined with them as to be a perpetual stimulant and 
benediction to the reader." — Congregationalist. 

" In turning over its pages we recall the learning, the zeal, the acumen, and the idiosyn- 
crasies of one of the most remarkable of the great and good men which our theological 

world has produced This contribution by Prof. Stuart has justly taken a high place 

among the Commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans, and, with his other works, will 
always be held in high estimation by students of the Sacred Scriptures."— N. Y. Observer 

1 



Commentaries PublisJied by W. F. Draper. 

ELLICOTT. 

Commentaries, Critical and Grammatical, by C. J, Ellicott, 
Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, viz, on 

GALATIANS. With an Introductory Notice by C. E. Stowe, lately Professot 

in Andover Theological Seminary. 8vo. pp. 183. $1.75 

EPHESIANS. 8vo. pp. 190. 1.75 

THESSALONIANS. 8vo. pp. 171. 1.75 

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES. 8vo. pp. 265. 2.50 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, AND PHILEMON. 8vo. pp. 265. 2.50 

The Set in five volumes, tinted paper, bevelled edges, gilt tops, 12.00 

The Set in two volumes, same style, 10.00 

The Set in two volumes, black cloth, rounded edges, 8.00 

"We would recommend all scholars of the original Scriptures who seek directness, 
luminous brevity, the absence of everything irrelevant to strict grammatical inquiry, with 
a concise and yet very complete view of the opinions of others, to possess themselves oi 
Ellicott's Commentaries." — American Presbyterian. 

" His Commentaries are among the best, if not the very best, helps a student can have." 
— American Presbyterian and Theological Review. 

" Ellicott is one of the best commentators of this class." — Princeton Review. 

" I do not know of anything superior to them in their own particular line."— Dean 
Alford. 

" We have never met with a learned commentary on any book of the New Testament so 
nearly perfect in every respect as the Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, by Prof. 
Ellicott, of King's College, London — learned, devout, and orthodox." — Independent. 

" They till the scholar with genuine admiration." — Watchman and Reflector. 

"The Commentaries of Prof. Ellicott belong to the first class of critical writings of the 
New Testament." — Boston Recorder. 

" To Bishop Ellicott must be assigned the first rank, if not the first place in the first rank, 
of English biblical scholarship. The series of Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles are 
in the highest style of critical exegesis." — Methodist Quarterly. 

"The best English work of this character."— JS"ew Englander. 

" Strictly grammatical and critical, thorough and fearless, concise yet complete, worthy 
of all confidence." — Evangelical Review. 

HENDERSON. 

Commentaries, Critical, Philological, and JExegetical, by E. 

Henderson, B.D., viz. on 
THE BOOK OF THE TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. Translated from 

the Original Hebrew. With a Biographical Sketch of the Author, by E P. 

Barrows, Hitchcock Professor in Andover Theological Seminary. 8vo. 

pp. 490. $4.00 

JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS. Translated from the Original Hebrew. 

8vo. pp. 315. $3.00 

EZEKIEL. Translated from the Original Hebrew. 8vo. pp. 228. 2.25 

"Dr. Henderson's Commentaries are rich in wholesome and true exposition." — Pres- 
byterian Magazine. 

"The work is invaluable for its philological research and critical acumen The notes 

are replete with the fruits of varied learning." — The Presbyterian. 

" Dr. Henderson is one of the most eminent of modern biblical critics. One of the lead- 
ing features of his mode of treating Scripture is his happy blending of textual with exe- 
getical comment. His treatise on Jeremiah is well worthy, by its elevated scholarship, 
to take a place side by side with the commentaries of Bishop Ellicott and of Professor 
Murphy, also issued by Mr. Draper." — Publishers' Circular. 

" He excelled in weighing evidence, and impressing upon it its relative value. His 
discrimination was clear and his judgment was sound. He dealt with fact, not with fiction. 
He searched for data, not for opinions. Dr. Henderson was not only well versed in the 
Hebrew language, r -t also in its cognates. Few men, either in England or America, have 
been his equals in Oriental literature. His Commentary on Jeremiah has the same general 
characteristics which appear in his Commentary on the Minor Prophets." — Rib. Sacra. 

"The only satisfactory commentary on the Minor Prophets we know of in the English 
language." — Episcopal Recorder. 

" The volume before us gives abundant evidence of patient scholarship and clear concep- 
tions of evangelical truth." — Evangelical Quarterly. 

" We have met with no so satisfactory a commentary on this part of the prophetic scrip- 
tures." — Watchman and Reflector. 

2 



OOMMENTAEIE8 

PUBLISHED BY 

WARREN F. DRAPER, 

ANDOVER, MASS. 



These Books will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of the price affixed. 



M URPHY. 

Critical and Exegetical Commentaries, by JProf. James G» 
Murphy, LL,JD,, T.C.D., viz, on 

GENESIS. With a Preface by J. P. Thompson, D.D., New York. 8vo. 

pp. 535. Cloth, rounded edges. $3.50 

EXODUS. (Uniform with Genesis.) 8vo. pp. 385. 3.00 

" Dr. Murphy in his commentaries has a definite plan, which he carries out. The text is 
explained, translated anew, and comments are added on the difficult and mooted points. He 
is a fair, clear, and candid interpreter. His aim is to reconcile the Scriptures with science 
by an impartial examination of the text." — Amer. Presbyterian and Theological Review. 

"Thus far nothing has appeared in this country for half a century on the first two books 
of the Pentateuch so valuable as the present two volumes. His style is lucid, animated, and 

often eloquent. His pages afford golden suggestions and key-thoughts Some of the 

laws of interpretation are stated with so fresh and natural a clearness and force that they 
will permanently stand." — Methodist Quarterly. 

" The most valuable contribution that has for a long time been made to the many aids 
for the critical study of the Old Testament is Mr. Draper's republication of Dr. Murphy 
on Genesis, in one octavo volume. It is a good deal to say of a commentary, but we say it in 
all sincerity, that this volume furnishes about as fascinating work for one's hours for read- 
ing as any volume of the day, in any department of literature; while its general influence 
will be salutary and effective for the truth The English reader will find nothing ac- 
cessible to him which will compare favorably with this as a help in the study of this por- 
tion of the divine word; while he will, of course, read always with his own judgment 
upon the views which find expression." — Congregationalist. 

STUART. 

Critical and Exegetical Commentaries, by Moses Stuart, late 
Professor in Andover Theological Seminary, viz, on 

ROMANS. Third Edition. Edited and revised by. Prof. R. D. C. Bobbins. 

12mo. pp. 544. $2.25 

HEBREWS. Third Edition. Edited and revised by Pkof. R. D. C. Robbins. 

12mo. pp. 575. $2.25 

THE APOCALYPSE. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 504, 504. 
ECCLESIASTES. Second Edition. Edited and revised by Pkof. R. D. C. 

Robbins. 12mo. pp. 346. $1,50 

BOOK OF PROVERBS. 12mo. pp.432. 1.75 

" The first characteristic of Professor Stuart as a commentator is the exhaustive thor- 
oughness of his labors. His exegesis is in general skilful and felicitous, especially in bring- 
ing out the meaning of the obscure passages, and adding new and delicate shades of thought 
to the more obvious and superficial sense." — North American Revieiv. 

" The exegetical works of Prof. Stuart have many excellences, and it will be a long time 
before the student of the Bible in the original will be willing to dispense with them as a 
part of his critical apparatus." — Boston Recorder. 

"The spirit of the man is so intertwined with them as to be a perpetual stimulant and 
benediction to the reader." — Congregationalist. 

" In turning over its pages we recall the learning, the zeal, the acumen, and the idiosyn- 
crasies of one of the most remarkable of the great and good men which our theological 

world has produced This contribution by Prof. Stuart has justly taken a high place 

among the Commentaries on the Epistle -to the Romans, and, with his other works, will 
always be held in high estimation by students of the Sacred Scriptures."—^. T. Observer' 

1 



Commentaries Published by W. F. Draper. 

ELLICOTT. 

Commentaries, Critical and Grammatical, by C, J. Ellicott, 
Bishoj? of Gloucester and Bristol, viz. on 

GALATIANS. With an Introductory Notice by C. E. Stowe, lately Professoi 

in Andover Theological Seminary. 8vo. pp. 183. $1.75 

EPHESLANS. 8vo. pp. 190. 1.75 

THESSALONIANS. 8vo. pp. 171. 1.75 

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES. 8vo. pp.265. 2.50 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, AND PHILEMON. 8vo. pp. 265. 2.50 

The Set in five volumes, tinted paper, bevelled edges, gilt tops, 12.00 

The Set in two volumes, same style, 10.00 

The Set in two volumes, black cloth, rounded edges, 8.00 

"We would recommend all scholars of the original Scriptures who seek directness, 
luminous brevity, the absence of everything irrelevant to strict grammatical inquiry, with 
a concise and yet very complete view of the opinions of others, to possess themselves ci 
Ellicott's Commentaries." — American Presbyterian. 

" His Commentaries are among the best, if net the very best, helps a student can have." 
— American Presbyterian and Theological Iieview. 

" Ellicott is one of the best commentators of this class." — Princeton Revieio. 

" I do not know of anything superior to them in their own particular line." — Dean 
Alford. 

" We have never met with a learned commentary on any book of the Tsew Testament so 
nearly perfect in every respect as the Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, by Prof. 
Ellicott, of King's College, London — learned, devout, and orthodox." —Independent. 

" They fill the scholar with genuine admiration." — Watchman and Reflector. 

"The Commentaries of Prof. Ellicott belong to the first class of critical writings of the 
New Testament." — Boston Recorder. 

" To Bishop Ellicott must be assigned the first rank, if not the first place in the first rank, 
of English biblical scholarship. The series of Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles are 
in the highest style of critical exegesis." —Methodist Quarterly. 

" The best English work of this character." — New Englander. 

" Strictly grammatical and critical, thorough and fearless, concise yet complete, worthy 
of all confidence." — Evangelical Review. 

HENDERSON. 

Commentaries, Critical, Philological, and Exegetical, by E, 

Henderson, B.D., viz. on 
THE BOOK OF THE TWELVE MLNOE PROPHETS. Translated from 

the Original Hebrew. With a Biographical Sketch of the Author, by E. P. 

Barrows, Hitchcock Professor in Andover Theological Seminary. 8vo. 

pp. 490. $4.00 

JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS. Translated from the Original Hebrew. 

8vo. pp. 315. $3.00 

EZEEXEL. Translated from the Original Hebrew. 8vo. pp. 228. 2.25 

"Dr. Henderson's Commentaries are rich in wholesome and true exposition." — Pres- 
byterian Magazine. 

" The work is invaluable for its philological research and critical acumen The notes 

are replete with the fruits of varied learning." — The Presbyterian. 

" Dr. Henderson is one of the most eminent of modern biblical critics. One of the lead- 
ing features of his mode of treating Scripture is his happy blending of textual with exe- 
getical comment. His treatise on Jeremiah is well worthy, by its elevated scholarship, 
to take a place side by side with the commentaries of Bishop Ellicott and of Professor 
Murphy, also issued by Mr. Draper." — Publishers' Circular. 

"He excelled in weighing evidence, and impressing upon it its relative value. His 
discrimination was clear and his judgment was sound. He dealt with fact, not with fiction. 
He searched for data, not for opinions. Dr. Henderson was not only well versed in the 
Hebrew language, *-_t also in its cognates. Few men, either in England or America, have 
been his equals in Oriental literature. His Commentary on Jeremiah has the same general 
characteristics which appear in his Commentary on the Minor Prophets." — Bib. Sacra. 

"The only satisfactory commentary on the Minor Prophets we know of in the English 
language." — Episcopal Recorder. 

" The volume before us gives abundant evidence of patient scholarship and clear concep- 
tions of evangelical truth." — Evangelical Quarterly. 

We have met with no so satisfactory a commentary on this part of the prophetic scrip* 
." — Watchman and Reflector. 

2 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 



Light foot, St, Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, A Revised 
Text, with Introduction, Notes, and Dissertations. By J. B. Light- 
foot, D.D., Hnlsean Professor of Divinity, and Fellow of Trinity 
College, Cambridge. 8vo. pp. 402. Uniform in style with Ellicott,- 
Henderson and Murphy. $3.00 

" This work aims to bo, and in some respects is, more complete than any other 
treatise upon the Epistle in the English language. Great labor and learning are 
expended upon collateral discussions. Indeed, the commentary on the text forms 
the smaller part of the volume, invested as it is with elaborate dissertations and 
detached notes, before and after and between. 

"The commentary is learned without display. It bears marks throughout of 
wide and scholarly research held in strict subordination to the purpose of exposi- 
tion. All theories except those which deserve a consideration are left out of the 
account. Perhaps the collateral dissertations might have been similarly com- 
pressed. It is independent. Eew commentaries bear more clearly the tokens of 
freedom from constraint. The author apparently does not swerve from his course 
either to agree with or differ from any other writer. He decides for himseii upon 

the text, after a revision by Westcott for his use And this leads us to say 

that it is largely marked by a manly insight. He reaches his results less by that 
process of exclusion which so characterizes Ellicott, and more by a direct appre- 
hension ; and he often holds them, perhaps, with more of an instinctive certainty 
than Afford It is spiritual and evangelical." — Congregational Review. 

" For a scholar's use Dr. Lightfoot's Commentary is invaluable. He and Bishop 
Ellicott worthily supplernent^cach other. The Revised Text is one of the best 
recent contributions to a complete text to the Greek New Testament, and the criti- 
cisms on the text are concise and to the point," etc. — Am. Presbyterian Review. 

" Taken as a wbole, we venture to say that this is the most complete and ex- 
haustive commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians that has yet appeared, Ellicott's 
not excepted." — Christian Intelligencer. 

JReubelt. The Scripture Doctrine of the Person of Christ, 
By J. A. Reubelt, D.D., Professor in Indiana University, Bloom- 
ington, Ind., based on the German of W. F. Gess. 12mo. pp. 456. 
Cloth, $2.00 

" As a whole, this treatise may be briefly characterized as an earnest and able 
effort to present the true and consistent doctrine of the Scriptures respecting the 
person of Christ, and to reconcile the varying confessional statements and views of 
different denominations, by carefully comparing them with the language of the 
Scriptures themselves. The investigation is conducted in a devout, candid and 
truth-loving spirit, combined with accurate scholarship and thorough study of the 
subject." — Lutheran Observer. 

" The translator has executed his task with admirable skill. While preserving 
the integrity of the original as to its line of thought and argument, he has clothed 
it in excellent English." — Christian Intelligencer. 

" Those who hold the doctrine of eternal generation will here find a valuable aid 
in divesting their views of its customary crudeness, and sublimating, as far as may 
be, the inherent contradiction that lies in the two words. We are content with 
that view of the phrase, " only-begotten Son," which regards it as setting forth by 
a human relationship (as usual) everywhere significant, but especially so to a Jew, 
the unity of nature, possession , purpose, interest, and sympathy which characterize 
the Father and the Son." — Congregational Review. 

" Though the style of thought- is peculiar, and though the opinions are often 
new, and sometimes such as may not command immediate assent, or even com- 
mand assent at all, yet there is an awakening power in the book, and the drift of it 
is right." — Congregationalist. 

WARREK F. DRAPER, Publisher, 
34 Andover, Mass. 



MISCELLANEOUS WORKS 



PUBLISHED BY 



ANDOVER, MASS. 



These Hooks will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of the price affixed* 



CLASSICAL STUDY : Its Usefulness illustrated by Selections from the Writings 

of Eminent Scholars. Edited, with an Introduction, by Samuel H. Taylor, 

LL.D., Principal of Phillips Academy. 12mo. pp. 415. Cloth extra. $2.00 

This work is designed to present the true objects of Classical Study, and the advantages 
of it when properly conducted; also to correct the objections which have been raised 
against the study. It consists of extracts from some of the best critics on classical educa- 
tion in Germany, England, Scotland, and our own country; the writers themselves being 
presidents of colleges, professors in colleges and theological seminaries, statesmen, lawyers, 
etc. In the volume therefore will be found the carefully-framed opinions of many of the 
best minds of the time. No one line of thought has been taken; the subject has been 
viewed from almost every point. The work therefore contains a fuller discussion of the 
advantages of classical study than has before been accessible. The need of such a volume 
is widely felt among the friends of sound learning. Every student as he commences his 
classical course should understand what he is to aim at and what he is to gain by the study. 

*nKTAIAOT TIOIHMA NOT0ETIKON. PHOCYLIDIS POEMA ADMONI- 

TORIUM. Recognovit Brevibusque Notis Instruxit. J. B. Eeuling, Ph.D., 

A.O.S.S., Professor Philologiae Compar. in Univer. Wisconsinensi. Editio 

Prima Americana. 16mo. pp. 32. Paper, 30 cents; gilt edges, 40 cents. 

"Warren F. Draper, of Andover, publishes Prof. J. B. Feuling's Pkocylidis Poema 
Admcnitorium, with a double introduction and a few notes, all in Latin ; the poem itself, 
however, is in the original Greek, and is a collection of moral sentences after the manner 
of Phocylides, in hexameter verse, which was probably compiled some eight centuries after 
the poet's death, though nobody knows when. Scaliger thought it quite as good as anything 
the old Milesian ever wrote, and very likely it is ; but in language it diners from the gen- 
uine hexameter of the Ionian school of poets to which Theognis and Solon belonged. The 
main introduction of the editor relates chiefly to classical studies in America, and the late 
convention " in urbe quam vocant Poughkeepsie," to which, by anticipation, he dedicates 
his littlebook. His notes are valuable for the citations from Theognis, Epictetus, Simplicius, 
Sophocles, Euripides, Epicharneus, Terence, Cicero, Sallust, Horace, and Ovid ; some of 
which are rare, and all apposite." — Springfield Republican. 

THE THEOLOGY OF THE GREEK POETS. By W. S. Tyler, Williston 

Professor of Greek in Amherst College. 12mo. pp. 365. Cloth, bevelled. $1.75 

" Professor Tyler has here produced a work which is an honor to American literature. 
It is well fitted to be a classic in our Colleges and Theological Seminaries. It furnishes 
admirable illustrations of the truth of both natural and revealed theology, and suggests 
original methods for the defence of these truths." — Bibliotheca Sacra. 

" The aim of the author is to detect the analogies between the myths of the Greek drama 
and epic, and the truths of revelation. The care of the scholar and the enthusiasm of 
the poet have been given to the work." — Independent. 

"Prof. Tyler has done good service to the cause of truth in showing that the Iliad and 
Odyssey, as well as the dramas of Aeschylus and the tragedies of Sophocles, express ideas 
and sentiments very much like those we And in contemporary Scriptures." — Hours at Home. 

LECTURES ON PASTORAL THEOLOGY. By Enoch Pond, D.D., Pro- 
fessor in Bangor Theological Seminary. Second Ed. 12mo. pp. 395. $1.75 

" This volume is an excellent and practical treatise upon pastoral duty, and is heartily 
commended to all who are entering upon or engaged in the holy office of the Christian 
ministry." — New York Observer. 

" Though especially adapted to Congregational churches and ministers,they will be found 
of use to all; for they are wise and prudent. All the special relations and duties of the 
ministry are fully and clearly discussed." — American Presbyterian Theological Review. 



Books Published by W. F. Draper. 

SJiedd. Works of William G. T, Shedd, recently Professor of 
Ecclesiastical History in Andover Theological Seminary, 

viz, : 

Discourses and Essays. 12mo. pp. 271. $1.50 

" The striking sincerity, vigor, and learning of this volume will be admired 
even by those readers* who cannot go with the author in all his opinions." — New 
Englander. 

" These elaborate articles are written in a lucid and racy style, and invest* with 
a rare interest the themes of which they treat." — Bibliotheca Sacra. 

" These Discourses are all marked by profound thought, and perspicuity of sen- 
timent." — Princeton Review. 

"Few clearer and more penetrating minds can be found in our country than 
that of Prof. Shedd. If the mind gets dull, or dry, or ungovernable, put it to 
grappling with these masterly productions." — Congregationed Herald, Chicago, 

"Each of these Discourses is profoundly and ingeniously elaborated, and the 
volume as a whole is a testimony to highly intellectual and consistent views of 
evangelical truth." — Boston Recorder. 

"A volume of rare excellence." — Evening Express. 

"The production of a highly cultivated and well-stored mind." — Christian 
Guardian. 

" These Essays are, every one of them, a rich treat for the thinkers, the lovers 
of deep thought ; of thought clothed in a strong, terse, stern, clear expression." 
Methodist Quarterly Review. 

" Papers like these are worthy the deepest study and the warmest admiration 
of the best minds ; and indeed the entire volume is a storehouse from which 
thoughts rich and truthful may be drawn." — Presbyterian Quarterly. 

"The themes discussed are weighty. The spirit in which they are treated 
admirable, and the calm, scholarly fulness and aptness of thought, citation, and 
illustration, refreshing." — Independent. 

Lectures upon the Philosophy of History. By William G. T. 

Shedd. 12mo. pp. 128. 75 cents. 

" This volume consists of four Lectures, of which the following are the titles: 
The Abstract Idea of History ; The Nature and Definition of Secular History ; 
The Nature and Definition of Church History ; The Verifying Test in Church 
History. It is written in a lucid style, and will interest the students of theology 
and of history." — Bibliotheca Sacra. 

"Professor Shedd has already achieved a high reputation for the union of philo- 
sophic insight with genuine scholarship, of depth and clearness of thought with 
force and elegance of style, and for profound views of sin and grace, cherished not 
merely on theoretical, but still more on moral and experimental grounds. — Prince- 
ton Review. 

" The style of these Lectures has striking merits. The author chooses his words 
with rare skill and taste, from an ample vocabulary ; and writes with strength and 
refreshing simplicity. The Philosophy of Realism, in application to history and 
historical theology, is advocated by vigorous reasoning, and made intelligible by 
original and felicitous illustrations." — New Englander. 

" The ' Lectures upon the Philosophy of History/ is an extraordinary specimen 
of the metaphysical treatise, and the charm of its rhetoric is not less noticeable. 
Prof. Shedd never puts his creed under a bushel ; but there are few students of any 
sect or class that will not derive great assistance from his labors." — Universalist 
Quarterly. 

" It bears the impress of an elegant as well as highly philosophical mind." — 
Boston Recorder. 

" It will be found to possess a deep interest to the student of all departments 
of history." — Southern Presbyterian. 

" One of those neat little volumes that a thinking man loves to have near him. 
By a person who is familiar with his theme, and whose thoughts are grand and 
simple." — Evening Express. 

S 



Boohs Published hy W. F. Draper. 

Stuart, Worlcs of Moses Stuart, late Trofessor in Andover 

Theological Seminary ; viz. 
Critical History and Defence of the Old Testament Canon. 

By Prof. Moses Stuart. 12mo. Revised edition. $1.75 

" The author elucidates, in their order, in series of chapters, many questions 
touching the writings and literature of the Jews, with a freedom and fulness that 
cannot fail to interest a studious inquirer in this wide field of sacred learning. 

" This whole work of Stuart's is lucid and instructive." — Christian Reflector. 

" It is a reply chiefly to Andrews Norton, and some other Unitarian writers in 
this country, who discard, if not the whole, yet the greater part of the Old Testa- 
ment, and portions also of the New, from the canon of the inspired Scripture. 
The discussion is temperate and manly, and at the same time thorough and satis- 
factory." — Christian Secretary. 

" The learning, the shrewdness, and force brought to bear on the grand question 
at issue, are unsurpassed." — Boston Recorder. 

Miscellanies. 12mo. pp. xii and 369. $1.25 

The work contains, 1. Letters to Dr. Channing on the Trinity; 2. Two 
Sermons on the Atonement ; 3. Sacramental Sermon on the Lambof God ; 4, 
Dedication Sermon — Real Christianity ; 5. Letter to Dr. Channing on Reli- 
gious Liberty ; 6. Supplemental Notes and Postscripts of new additional matter. 

Hebrew Grammar of Gesenius as edited by Roediger. Trans- 
lated, with Additions, and also a Hebrew Ckrestomathy. 8vo. 
pp. viii and 360. Half cloth. $1.25 

A Grammar (Greek) of the "New Testament Dialect. 8vo. pp. 

312. Half cloth. $1.25 

*nKTMAOT noiHMA NOY0ETIKON. JPhoeylidis Poema Admonito- 

rium, Recognovit Brevibusque Notis Instruxit. J. B. Feuling-, 
Ph. D., A.O.S.S., Professor Philologiae Compar. in Univer. Wis- 
consinensi. Editio Prima Americana. 1 6mo. pp. 32. Paper, 30 
cents ; gilt edges. 40 cents. 

" Phocylidis Poema Admonitorium, edited by J. B. Feuling, Professor in the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin, and exquisitely printed. Phocylides was an Ionian poet,, con- 
temporary with Theognis and Simonides, say 550 B.C. Suidas says he wrote 
gnomic poetry and elegies, and calls him a philosopher. Aristotle quotes him, 
with praise. Only eighteen short fragments of his poems are known to survive, 
of which two are the elegaic meter, and the rest in hexameters. The didactic poem, 
here reprinted, in 217 hexameters, has been considered, beyond question, to be a 
forgery of date since the Christian era. Whenever and by whomsoever written, 
the little poem is interesting for its style, and for the excellent sentiments which it 
breathes." — Congregationalist and Recorder. 

" Warren F. Draper, of Andover, publishes Prof. J. B. Feuling's Phocylidis 
Poema Admonitorium, with a double introduction and a few notes, all in Latin ; the 
poem itself, however, is in the original Greek, and is a collection of moral sen- 
tences after the manner of Phocylides, in hexameter verse, which was probably 
compiled some eight centuries after the poet's death, though nobody knows when. 
Scaliger thought it quite as good as anything the old Milesian ever wrote, and very- 
likely it is; but in language it differs from the genuine hexameter of the Ionian 
school of poets to which Theognis and Solon belonged. The main introduction 
of the editor relates chiefly to classical studies in America, and the late convention 
" in urbe quam vocant Poughkeepsie," to which, by anticipation, he dedicates his 
little book. His notes are valuable for the citations from Theognis, Epictetus, 
Simplicius, Sophocles, Euripides, Epicharneus, Terence, Cicero, Sallust, Horace, 
and Ovid ; some of which are rare, and all apposite." — Springfield Republican. 

Wx 



Books Published by W. F. Draper. 

Goodrich. Bible History of Prayer. By C. A.Goodrich. 12mo. 
pp, 384. $ L25 

" The aim of this little volume is to embody an account of the delightful and 
successful intercourse of believers with heaven for some four thousand years. The 
author has indulged a good deal in narrative, opening and explaining the circum- 
stances which gave birth to the several prayers. 

" The author does not aim to write a treatise on prayer, or to comment on all the 
veferences to prayer in chronological order, but to dwell on its nature and im- 
portance, and make suggestions on the most important allusions to prayer, as 
indicated all along for four mousand years. He explains the circumstances con- 
nected wi:h the prayers of these holy men." — Rdiijious Union. 

Hebrew English Psalter. &"fciin ^£0. The Book of Psalms, in 

Hebrew and English, arranged in parallelism. 16mo. pp. 194 $1.50 

" The neat little volume which bears the above title may be briefly characterized 
as a happy idea beautifully executed. The Hebrew Text" of the Psalms is divided 
according to the poetical 'pause-points of the verses, so that it appears in lines as 
sung by the Jewish cantillators. The Hebrew text according to Hahn, with Rosen- 
miiiler's arrangement, in parallel clauses, occupies one column, and the English 
text of the Common Version another ; the two standing side by side, so that, as 
far as the idioms of the two languages admit, the corresponding Hebrew and Eng- 
lish clauses stand opposite to each other. In the few cases where the different or- 
der followed in the version makes such a parallelism impossible, it is indicated by 
braces enclosing the translation. 

" The preacher in expounding to his congregation one of the Psalms of David, 
will find it very convenient to have the original by the side of the English version. 
For private reading and meditation, also, such an arrangement will be found very 
pleasant and profitable. We feel confident that this little volume will be a favor- 
ite with Hebrew scholars ; and that, when they have once become habituated to it, 
it will be, to many of them, a vade mecum." — Bibliotlttca Sacra. 

" To the devout scholar who loves to see these sacred songs of the temple worship 
written as they were chanted, and desires to possess a correct arrangement of the 
alphabetical Psalms, this little book is invaluable." — Watchman and Reflector. 

" The book is compact, well-printed, and every way adapted to its purpose." — 
Lutheran and Missionary. 

" A happy design, and beautifully executed ij its typography." — Boston Review. 
" A handsome edition of the book of Psalms, which will be quite a favorite with 
clergymen and theological students." — New Englander. 

"A very convenient and admirable manual, and we beg leave to thank our 
Andover friend for it." — Presbyterian Quarterly. 

" This beautifully printed work wall be very popular with biblical scholars. It 
is portable, and to one who has become measurably acquainted with the original, 
it must be a valuable vade mecum." — Methodist Quarterly. 

" We have here a beautifully clear and eye-comforting edition of the Hebrew 
Psalter, according to Halm's text-, but arranged in verse mostly according to 

Rosenmiiller Every lover of the Hebrew will desire and be grateful for so 

agreeable a help to his studies and devotions." — Congregationalism 

" The volume is beautifully printed, of convenient size for use, and of admirable 
adaptation to the service of those whose Hebrew has become a dim reminiscence." 
North American Review. 

Hebrew Psalter, n^bnn ^SD. Liber Psalmorum. Text according 
to Hahn. 32mo. Morocco, pp. 177. $1.00 

This is the smallest pocket edition, and is altogether the most convenient He- 
Drew Psalter ever published in this country. It is printed in very clear type. 

" To those who read Hebrew this little volume will be a perfect diamond. We 
have seen nothing for many a day which has pleased our fancy more. The paper 
is excellent, the printing remarkably clear and distinct, and the general appearance 
of the booklet like a gem of the first water — which it is." — Christian Secretary. 

H 



Boohs Published by W. F. Draper. 

Whately, Writings of Archbishop JVliately. Published under 

the sanction of the author, from the latest revised editions ; viz. 
Essays on some of the Difficulties in the Writings of St. Paul. 
12mo. pp. 397. Cloth extra, gilt tops. $2.00 

" Dr. Whately's writings are characterized by sound thought and solid judgment. 
Clear and solid sense is his peculiar characteristic. He is often ingenious, generally 
candid, almost always plain and transparent. He sometimes fails in acuteness, as 
is seen in the third Essay of the present volume, where, as we think, he fails to 
apprehend the exact idea of ' election ' ; still, he is more sharp-sighted than the 
majority of writers on theological topics. 

" We regard the present volume as, on the whole, the ablest of his theological 
works. It deserves the faithful study of every clergyman. Dr. Whately is one of 
those authors who can be as profitably read by those who do not agree with him 
as by those who do. The religious opinions of a writer who earned so eminent a 
name in the department of logic and rhetoric, and who had so great skill in the 
practical affairs relating to the state as well as the church, cannot be without 
peculiar interest to the theologian." — Bibliotheca Sacra. 

"An excellent work." — New York Evangelist. 

" One of those volumes which make sound learning and thorough biblical scholar- 
ship so honorable in the sight of all men. A man of exact and extensive learning, 
a patient and devoted student of the Scriptures, clear as crystal in his thought, 
and as clear in his language and methods of expressing it, a lover of truth, and 
not afraid to utter it." — Universalist Quarterly. 

" The Archbishop's writings are a part of the sterling theological letters of the 
age, and ought to be possessed by all the studious and thoughtful." — Journal and 
Messenger. 

" This book had passed through at least eight editions in England before its 
publication in this country. Dr. Whately is always entitled to a hearing. Never 
profound, he is always clear ; never very original, he is always instructive ; never 
disgustingly dogmatic, he always seems to feel a serene assurance that he has 
exhausted the whole subject, and that his verdict is final; always positive and 
didactic, he is yet never extreme, but always takes the middle and moderate view." 
— Watchman and Reflector. 

Essays on some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion. 
and Historic Doubts concerning Napoleon. 12mo. pp. 264 
and 48. Bound in 1 vol. Cloth extra, gilt tops. $2.00 

Historic Doubts concerning Napoleon. 12mo. pp. 48. 

Paper covers, 25 cents ; cloth, 50 cents. 

About the year 1821 Whately published this Essay anonymously. _ It was 
designed as an answer to Hume's objections to the credibility of the Christian mir- 
acles. Following Hume's method, Whately gravely argued the improbability of 
the existence of the first Napoleon, and demonstrated that, on Hume's principles, 
the testimony in relation thereto could not be credited. In the second edition of 
this Essay, the author humorously assumed the fact of the death of Napoleon, 
which had then just occurred, as a confirmation of his theory, asserting that " the 
newspapers," finding that his little tract had called attention to their ' phantom/ 
had disposed of the tract by killing the phantom. 

Woods. Works of Leonard Woods, D.D., late Professor in An- 

dover Theological Seminary, comprising Lectures, Letters, Essays, 

and Sermons. 5 vols. 8vo. $12.00 

" The pulpit here finds a fountain of light that it may continue to reflect with 

power and effect throughout the world. Dr. Woods had no superior in scholarship, 

in industry, and in ability to impress the inquirer after truth." — Religious Union. 

Z 












OCT 









y 






























